OKLAHOMA CITY — A smile crossed Deron Williams's face late Wednesday, a new, joyful look to usher in a new calendar year, along with what appeared to be an entirely new Nets team.
The Nets hustled, passed with a purpose, defended with pride, skipped happily around the court and hit shots from various places and angles. Their offense flowed, their defense held and everyone looked a little livelier in a 110-93 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Arena.
They roared to an early 23-point lead, absorbed the Thunder's furious fourth-quarter rally and — after allowing a momentary tie — closed the game with an authoritative 25-8 run.
This was not the Nets team that lost 11 of 16 games in December or the one that was humiliated on both Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. This was a fluid, confident group, powering past the defending Western Conference champions, in a building where the Nets had never won, and just two days after a calamitous defeat in San Antonio.
No pure basketball explanations would suffice, so Williams just grinned and pointed to the calendar.
"It's a new year," he said, beaming. "It's 2013."
This was, to be certain, the Nets' biggest victory of the season. They beat the Thunder for the first time in eight tries, won in Oklahoma City for the first time, period, and ended the Thunder's 12-game home winning streak, dealing them just their third loss here this season.
Joe Johnson powered the offense with 33 points and an efficient 11-for-19 shooting performance. Brook Lopez added 25 points while fighting through the N.B.A.'s best defensive front line.
Williams was masterful as both a passer (13 assists) and scorer (19 points), showing a renewed bounce in his step. He looked neither injured nor uncomfortable nor lacking confidence as he led the Nets (17-15) to their first victory over a winning team since November.
"Hopefully, we just can realize that this is how we can play, every night, and how we should play," said Williams, who also had a season-high five steals.
The victory gave P. J. Carlesimo a 3-1 record as the Nets' interim coach, and a victory over the team that fired him just 13 games into the 2008 season.
"What I said to them is, We've set the bar a little bit high," Carlesimo said. "We showed ourselves what we're capable of doing."
Along the way, the Nets — with the assistance of the officials — flustered Kevin Durant into the first ejection of his six-year career, with 1:57 left to play and the Thunder trailing by 14 points. Durant finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, but he earned two quick technical fouls for barking at the official Danny Crawford.
"I said it was a bad call," Durant said. "They got a quick trigger now on techs."
The Thunder tied the game only once in the second half, at 85-85 with just over 7 minutes to play. Johnson, Williams and Lopez combined for the final push that put the game away.
Russell Westbrook had 26 points and 10 assists for the Thunder (24-7).
Even in a tight fourth quarter, the Nets seemed looser: witness Williams and Keith Bogans laughing as they walked into a timeout after Bogans shot an air ball from the arc.
The Nets had a 16-point lead at halftime. As one would expect, the Thunder came roaring back in the third quarter. Durant and Westbrook fueled a 21-8 run with a combination of 3-pointers and electrifying fast-break dunks, cutting the Nets' lead to 71-68.
"We kept our composure," Johnson said. "Things didn't look so bright and we still was a confident group out there."
Lopez answered with two quick baskets as the Nets momentarily held off the charge. They closed the third with a 76-72 lead and with Carlesimo bellowing angrily at Kris Humphries for a poor pass that prevented another Nets score before the buzzer.
Gerald Wallace returned to the lineup after a one-game absence and spent most of his night wrestling with Durant, doing his best to throw him off rhythm, if that is even possible.
Durant mostly had his way although, incredibly, he did not attempt a free throw until the 1:06 mark of the third quarter.
Thunder Coach Scott Brooks spent half of his pregame session praising the Nets, as if their disastrous December had never happened, and as if he knew they had a second life in them.
He called Williams "one of the best point guards in the game," despite his season-long struggles, and called Lopez "one of the best bigs in the league at scoring the basketball."
Brooks concluded, presciently, "I'm sure eventually it's going to click, and they're going to turn it around."
At halftime, the Nets held a 61-45 lead, setting the stage for either their greatest victory of the season, or the most gut-wrenching collapse one could imagine.
Johnson, Williams and Lopez combined for 42 points in the half, while making 17 of 28 shots. Johnson had 20 points — more than he had scored in any of his previous five games. Williams had nine assists by halftime, more than his prior two games combined.
"I think we've shown that we can be one of the top teams in this league," Johnson said.
REBOUNDS
C. J. Watson was in uniform but did not play because of a bruised right knee. The rookie Tyshawn Taylor took his spot in the rotation, playing nine minutes. It was the first game Watson has missed this season, leaving Joe Johnson and Andray Blatche as the only Nets to play in every game. ... Jerry Stackhouse was held out of the game because of a sore right hamstring.
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