Nets hang on for win over Thunder to snap five-game losing streak

What was the most stunning: The Nets, for three quarters at least, steamrolling one of the best teams in basketball?

Shots continually falling for Brooklyn, which looked like the far fresher team?

Cam Thomas actually hitting a jump shot? 

Or maybe it was the final score that reflected that the Nets, at long last, had won a game? 

Jacque Vaughn’s group halted a five-game skid and grabbed just their third victory in 13 games with a blowout-turned-nail-biter 124-115 win over the powerful Thunder at Barclays Center in front of a sellout crowd of 18,147 on Friday night. 

The deeply slumping and slumbering Nets (16-20) awoke and put the Thunder (23-11) — who entered as the second seed in the Western Conference — to sleep in the first half.

The Nets jumped out to a practically unthinkable 75-47 gap after two quarters, their biggest lead and their most points scored at the half all season. 

The Nets would lead by as many as 32, though the Thunder mounted a late threat and nearly ran away with what would have been the Nets’ worst loss of the season.

A 33-15 run in the fourth quarter brought the Thunder to within seven and jeopardized what had been a feel-good victory. 

But the Nets — tight throughout a fourth quarter in which they shot just 5-for-22 — hit just enough foul shots and made just enough plays — notably a late putback from Dennis Smith Jr. (13 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) that bumped the lead back to double digits — to fend off the attack. 

The Nets held on and ensured their magical first half did not go to waste. 

Perhaps the most illustrative moment arrived in the second quarter, when Royce O’Neale heaved up a deep airball.

But in the first two quarters, even the rare misses were benefiting the Nets.

The ball ignored the rim but found Smith’s waiting hands, resulting in a catch and dunk. 

It was as if two-and-a-half weeks of frustration were released on every possession.

The Nets had not beaten a team that was not the Pistons since Dec. 13 in Phoenix.

In their previous 12 games, they morphed into the worst shooting team — both from the field and from 3-point range — in the NBA and were getting stomped defensively, including allowing opponents to bomb away (foes shooting a league-best 43.4 percent) from deep. 

The struggles were best personified by Thomas, who entered 0-for-20 — that is not a typo — in his past two-plus games. 

Everything that had gone wrong started going right, beginning with a 25-7 spurt to end the first quarter that all but put the game away (until the fourth, at least). 

Thomas, confidence clearly not shaken, continued hunting his own shot and poured in 16 of his 18 points in the first half.

Nic Claxton finished with 23 points on just 11 shots to go with 13 rebounds.

He also showed good court awareness in dishing out three early assists, including finding Thomas alone at the 3-point arc for a trey. 

Every Net who played, apart from Lonnie Walker IV (who made his return after missing more than a month with a hamstring strain), had scored by halftime.

Eight Nets scored at least nine points, including a much-needed 23 points from Spencer Dinwiddie on 7-for-12 shooting. 

“They can shoot,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault insisted before the game, ignoring the 26 percent the Nets shot from 3 in their past matchup, an easy Thunder victory in Oklahoma City on Sunday. 

It was Oklahoma City who abruptly could not, hitting on just two of their first 15 3-point tries.

After the torrid fourth and 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder finished 9-for-30 from deep.