Warriors escape Nets, but Jordan Bell injured in 114-101 win

OAKLAND - It happened late in the third quarter of the Warriors’ 114-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets.

Jordan Bell, the Warriors’ rookie backup center, jumped for a rebound and landed on Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s foot. Bell’s right ankle buckled. He fell to the court, stayed down and pounded the wood with his fists.

“‘F---,’” Bell said in the locker room. “That’s all I was thinking.”

Bell left the game and did not return. His X-rays were negative. The Warriors called his injury a “mild ankle sprain.”

“He doesn’t think it’s serious,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He feels like he’s going to be fine. We’ll take it day by day.

“I didn’t see the play that he got injured on, but I don’t think he can adapt his play to try to avoid injury. It doesn’t work that way. He’s just got to play. He was healthy in his college career. It’s just kind of a random deal.”

Bell sprained his other ankle on Jan. 17, and that injury caused him to miss the next 14 games. It’s unclear how many games his newest ankle sprain will cost him, but the Warriors are counting on him to be a factor in the playoffs.

Bell isn’t the only player on the Warriors with an ankle issue. Tuesday night, Stephen Curry played his first game since rolling his ankle last Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. Against the Nets, Curry finished with 34 points and made six of 12 3-points shots.

His ankle seemed OK.

“Steph went nuts,” Kerr said. “We didn’t get much going other than Steph on the high screens. It wasn’t a great night for us offensively.”

With Tuesday’s win, the Warriors improved their record to 50-14. They now have won at least 50 games five seasons in a row.

“The Warriors went almost two decades of not much success,” Kerr said, “Only one playoff appearance in (18) years. So, we do appreciate it, but we don’t talk about it a whole lot.”

Since the All-Star break, the Warriors’ record is perfect - 6-0. And in each of those games, their starting center has been JaVale McGee.

Their record this season when he starts is 10-0.

“We’re getting some good things from JaVale in terms of the energy and the athleticism and the ability to catch the lob,” Kerr said before the game. “We’re doing a lot better (early in games). The numbers are good defensively and we’re taking care of the ball. I think, more than anything, it’s attention to detail and focus.”

But the Warriors lost their focus early Tuesday night. They fell behind 14-10 with McGee in the game as they turned the ball over three times.

With 5:43 remaining in the first quarter, Kerr replaced McGee and Draymond Green with Bell and Andre Iguodala. And the Warriors went on a 25-0 run - their longest run since Kerr became their head coach in 2014. Bell scored five of those 25 points. He also grabbed a rebound and blocked a shot.

Curry made four of six shots and scored 13 points in the first quarter. When it ended, the Warriors led 35-19.

But the Nets didn’t quit. When the second quarter started, they went on a 25-7 run, and took a 44-42 lead with 4:41 left in the first half.

The Warriors played horribly during the second quarter. They committed eight turnovers, shot 33 percent from the field and got outscored 34-13. Meanwhile, the Nets shot 64 percent during the second quarter. They led 53-48 at halftime.

McGee got the Warriors going to start the third quarter. He dunked three times in the first two minutes and helped give the Warriors a two-point lead early in the second half.

But the Nets kept coming. With fewer than four minutes remaining before the fourth quarter, Nets guard D’Angelo Russell pulled up from 18 feet and sunk a jumper over Bell’s outstretched arm to give the Nets a 76-73 lead.

“I’m so impressed with what the Nets are doing,” Kerr said. “Every time we play them, they play so hard.”

The Nets’ record is 20-45. They have lost 12 of their past 13 games.

After Russell hit that shot over Bell, Curry took over. He scored nine of the Warriors’ final 11 points in the third quarter. When the quarter ended, the Warriors led 86-80. Curry scored 18 points total in the third.

Then Green put the Nets away.

With Curry on the bench to start the fourth quarter, Green made a layup, a floater and a 3-pointer, giving the Warriors a 12-point lead with 9:43 left in the game.

They never trailed again.