Johan Petro

Johan and Petro and the New Jersey Nets complete an exhausting six-day, four-city road trip in Los Angeles today when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers in a Dr. Martin Luther King Day matinee.

The trip took Johan and his teammates from New Jersey to Denver, then on to Phoenix and Utah over the weekend. And it's already been a partially successful trip for the Nets, as they started the weekend off with their third win of the season against the Phoenix Suns.

The road swing started in a familiar place for Johan, as he returned to Denver for just the second time since leaving the Nuggets as a free agent to sign with the Nets. JP played a season-and-a-half in Denver and was a key cog in the Nuggets' 09-10 playoff run filling for an injured Kenyon Martin.

JP reflected fondly on his time in Denver before the Nets met the Nuggets, but noted that because of the high altitude, Denver is one of the only cities in the league where the home team enjoys a true advantage.

"It's definitely real," he said of the advantage of altitude. "When I got traded, my first practice my nose started bleeding."

The Rocky Mountain effect is not something a team just getting off a plane can adjust to quickly and the Nets were unable to counter it on Wednesday, falling behind 35-28 after one quarter. The Nuggets never looked back on the way to a 123-115 victory.

Starting at center for the fifth time this season, Johan logged 10 minutes and scored four points on 2-for-3 from the field against his former team.

JP shared time throughout the game with teammate Mehmet Okur, as he slowly rehabilitates his back injury. Johan continued his trend of scoring early in the first quarter when he knocked down a hit a jump shot off a Kris Humphries feed, just two minutes into the game, to put the Nets up 8-3. JP and Hump were at it again just a minute later, as No. 27 assisted Humphries on a layup.

New Jersey hit six of their first eight shots to open the game on a 16-9 run, but couldn't hold the lead. Both teams battled back and forth for it in the first, but Denver got the best of New Jersey and took a 35-28 lead heading into the second quarter. The Nuggets were in front by 16 at halftime and 20 after three.

The Nets made one last pass at a comeback in the final quarter, scoring the first 12 points of the fourth to trim a 100-80 lead down to 100-92. But their best comeback effort was countered by a 6-0 Denver run to effectively put the game out of reach.

No. 27 finished the game with four points and one assist as the team had their best offensive performance of the season. Although JP and New Jersey could not come back from the large deficit they faced, there were plenty of positives to take to Phoenix and Utah over the weekend. The 115 points the Nets scored were a season high and they knocked down 20 3-pointers, breaking a five-year-old franchise record in the process. The game also marked the second time this season the Nets have scored more than 100 points.

WEEKEND SPLIT
The Nets followed their loss in Denver with one of their best games of the season in Phoenix on Friday night. New Jersey was again red-hot from beyond the arc in the 110-103 win, knocking down 47 percent of three-point attempts in the victory.

Johan shared time throughout the game with teammate Mehmet Okur, as he slowly rehabilitates his back injury.

JP's biggest contribution came in the third when he checked in for Okur with two minutes left and instantly grabbed a defensive rebound. The board led to a 3-pointer from red-hot Deron Williams to put New Jersey in front 86-79.

Williams scored a season-high 35 points in the win.

One night later, the Nets returned to their point guard's former home as they took on the Jazz in Utah. JP contributed four points, four defensive rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in just 11 minutes, but the Nets couldn't pull off the back-to-back wins, falling 107-94.

The Nets welcomed Okur back to the starting lineup for the game and the two centers continued to share time throughout. Upon his entry into the game, Johan was quickly assisted by Jordan Farmar on a jump shot early in the second, cutting NJ's deficit to eight. A minute later and the two were at it again, as JP assisted Farmar's 3-pointer. Johan added two free throws at the end of the half, but the Nets headed into the locker room facing a 17-point deficit.

Johan affected the game again in the fourth quarter, grabbing three rebounds off the defensive glass. New Jersey was down 102-83 with 2:32 left in the game when No. 27 found teammate Sundiata Gaines, who buried a 3-pointer. Just a minute later, JP assisted Farmar's layup, which brought the Nets within 13 points. But the deficit was too large to overcome.

NEXT UP
The Nets finish their four-game road trip with matinee game in Los Angeles this afternoon against the Clippers. Tip-off is set for 3:30 EST and the game can be seen on YES.

RELATED STORIES

• Nets vs. Suns Box Score (NBA.com, Jan. 13, 2012)
• Nets vs. Jazz Box Score (NBA.com, Jan. 14, 2012)
• Quick Hits: Nuggets 123, Nets 115 (ESPN New York, Jan. 11, 2012)
• Nets Can't Keep Up With Nuggets In High Scoring-Affair (Nets Daily, Jan. 11, 2012)
• Nets' Deron expects 'mixed reviews' from Jazz fans (NY Post, Jan. 11, 2012)