Smith's jumper had New Orleans as close as 84-80 with more than five minutes still to go, but Lopez and Williams began to take over again, scoring the rest of the Nets' points and briefly building the lead back to nine inside the final two minutes.
Jay-Z, who famously grew up in the nearby Marcy housing projects, has been pounding as loud as anyone in his role as public face of the building and its main tenant, the Brooklyn Nets.