The Brooklyn Nets have won five straight games this year, including impressive wins over the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, and putting the team at seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Guard Jason Terry said the winning streak can be attributed to a change in the team's outlook buoyed by veteran forward Kevin Garnett, who asked his teammates to put the year behind them and start out stronger in 2014.
"He's the main one," Terry told ESPN.com. "He's who spearheaded this whole movement of going out and playing with an edge, with a swagger. I think it was after the Christmas Day loss to Chicago where he kind of let it be known, 'look, I am out here on one leg. If I can do this, we all can do it. But it is not going to be individually. It is going to be together.'"
He continued: "We just made a pact going into the New Year. It was more of KG just saying it is a New Year, let's put that last year behind us and in 2014, let's go out and hunt. Not be the hunted."
The Nets are now 15-21 and have started to play well especially on the defensive end.
"Our attitudes changed," forward Paul Pierce said. "Our pride has changed."
"I never would have made whatever years it is for me by giving up," Garnett added. "And I won't let anybody in here. We echoed that through the voices of the vets in here along with our coach. Our coach is not a quitter. Our owner is not a quitter. That gets trickled down from the totem pole."
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