Brooklyn appeared to be teetering towards an epic collapse, until their leading scorer came through.
Disaster became averted with 5.4 seconds left for the Brooklyn Nets.
Michael Porter Jr. grabbed the pass from Nolan Traore and powered inside the key. He took two steps before being met with red in the paint. Coby White threw his arms up, while MPJ needed to contest his shot...
But just when it looked like Porter needed to finish with his non-dominant hand, he adjusted to get his layup in with his right -- eventually helping lead into the 112-109 win at home on Friday night over the Chicago Bulls.
This basket wasn't the game winner. But merely shifted the confidence tide back to Brooklyn, which saw its huge 20-point lead evaporate late.
The Nets even carried a 89-72 lead into the fourth quarter with visions of finally ending their five-game slide. Brooklyn even sat at the projected No. 5 slot amid NBA Draft Lottery rankings.
Cam Thomas placed Brooklyn up at 20 off his 25-foot three-pointer -- sparking the enthusiasm inside Barclays Center.
But Tre Jones forced Chicago to chip away, scoring the next four points including banking his own 25-footer from behind the arc. Jalen Smith and White later hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to nine. Smith later answered one more Thomas three with his own long-range basket to make it 95-86 in favor of Brooklyn.
Porter later made a free throw that handed Brooklyn the 100-94 lead. He then glided through the Bulls to make a driving layup that placed the Nets up 102-98.
Noah Clowney tacked on his own three -- this one making it 108-102. Chicago ignited late, though, by going on a 7-0 run to take the lead with 11.4 left.
Porter managed to lift the lead back Brooklyn's way. Clowney took a personal foul from Jones and responded by nailing his last two free throws for the game's final points.
Chicago outscored the Nets 37-23 in the final quarter -- adding to the continues final period mishaps that have plagued Brooklyn during the slide. Except Porter plays Friday savior and averts disaster for the Nets.
He led with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Porter wasn't just a force down low, as he banked five baskets from behind the arc.
Clowney ended his day with 23 points including hitting a quartet of threes. Day'Ron Sharpe led the reserves by scoring 14 points while rookie Danny Wolf added 13. Thomas and Nolan Traore added eight points each in bench duty. Traore, though, led the night with seven assists including hitting his skip passes.
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