#Nets starting to get the very best of Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin delivered his biggest scoring night as a Net in one of Brooklyn’s most desperate spots of the season. And his defense may have been even more important in earning Saturday’s comeback victory at Denver.

With four games left on the schedule before the playoffs start, the Nets are looking for even more nights like this from Griffin, who seems to be growing more comfortable — and explosive — by the week.

“That’s what we need Blake to be in terms of being out there, being an option for us, being a playmaker,” Kyrie Irving said. “His game has evolved. We understand that he’s going to play a different style with us out there, and that’s going to complement when he figures that role out.

“But, for right now, we just need him to stay aggressive playing as our big, especially at that defensive end. We’re asking a lot out of him. So we’ve just got to help him out as best we can, just continue to communicate with him. But [Saturday] was a great stepping stone for him, as well as for our team.”

Griffin had 20 points against the Nuggets, his highest output since debuting with the Nets on March 21. He had 16 of those in the third quarter alone on 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and added physical defense to at least make Nikola Jokic work.

After shooting 5-for-7 in the first half, Jokic was 5-for-14 in the second with three turnovers. The MVP candidate had three key misses in the final minute.

Apropos of Jokic’s misses, he picked up a technical arguing the last attempted 6-foot bank shot with 10.9 seconds left and Nic Claxton on him. The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report confirmed the no-call on Claxton’s defense was correct.

The NBA’s L2M stated “Claxton (BKN) moves toward Jokic (DEN) and marginal contact occurs as Jokic brings his left arm into Claxton as he retreats his arm into a vertical position.”

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The Nets shot a season-high 62.1 percent against Denver. They also outscored the Nuggets 28-15 in the fourth quarter, the fewest points they have allowed in any road quarter this season.

The Nets’ 21-point comeback was their second-biggest deficit overturned, behind the 24-point rally in Phoenix on Feb. 16.

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Mike James had six points and two steals Saturday — and one more bit of shade thrown at him by his CSKA Moscow coach.

Dimitris Itoudis told Eurohoops.net that the call to let James leave for the NBA wasn’t just about one thing — like their personal altercation — but issues witnessed daily, and by the entire staff.

“If somebody isn’t feeling that he belongs there, then he’s not going to belong there,” Itoudis said when asked about James. “The certain changes that we did are based on what we witnessed daily. All coaches.”