Lopez scores 24 points; and Booker, Bogdanovic, and Kilpatrick come up big in the final seconds

The Brooklyn Nets held off the Denver Nuggets for an 116-111 victory on Wednesday night.

For once, the Nets didn’t have a third quarter meltdown; they went into the fourth 96-79.

Brooklyn led by as many as 29 points midway through the third quarter, but Denver closed the gap to 103-99 in the fourth on Kenneth Faried's layup with 4:31 left. And, it was almost as my colleague says, “the same ole Nets.”

"Look at the positive, I think we took a punch, two punches, maybe five punches and we got off the floor and finished it out," Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said.

Yes, the Nets did finish it out. With fans sitting on pins and needles, Bojan Bogdanovic and Sean Kilpatrick each made two foul shots in the final 13 seconds to help secure the win for the Nets.

Here’s the breakdown. Nets power forward Trevor Booker went 1 for 2 at the line with 13 seconds remaining for an 112-109 Nets lead. Denver’s Jameer Nelson then threw away the inbounds pass after a Denver timeout, and Bogdanovic made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left.

After Wilson Chandler hit a driving layup for Denver, Kilpatrick made two foul shots to help secure the win for the Nets.

"It's a confidence boost for me when I know my teammates are counting on me with the ball in my hands towards the end," Kilpatrick said. "I'm trying to make sure I make the right plays, especially down the stretch."

In the win, the Nets had six players score in double digits. Brook Lopez scored 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the Nets. Kilpatrick had 22 and six rebounds, Bogdanovich added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and Booker posted 15 points and 12 rebounds. Coming off the bench for the Nets, Joe Harris chipped in 16 points.

In the loss, Chandler led all scorers with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Will Barton had 15 points, and Nelson and Nikola Jokic each scored 14.

“It’s hard to look back at this game because when you play like that and come back, you just think of all the mistakes you made and the stuff you did to get down, but at that point, it’s a winnable game,” Chandler said. Now we can’t look back and dwell on it too much because we play tomorrow.”

The Nets will be off for two days and then the team will meet up with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in San Antonio.

The Milwaukee Bucks coached by former Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd, came into the Barclays Center and wreaked havoc on the Brooklyn Nets. Just two days before, the Nets played like they belong in the conversation about top NBA teams when they stunned the Los Angeles Clippers with a 127-122 double overtime win.

The Nets started off staying close; in fact, during the first half, the teams looked evenly matched. The Nets were even up 60-59 three minutes into the third quarter. But the Nets’ the third quarter nemesis showed up and said not so fast, and the team’s fortunes quickly changed. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks went on a tear ending the third quarter 90-78.

“I think turnovers hurt us,” said Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. “Just giving them too many easy baskets and, you know, third quarter again – they outscored us pretty good there, so we’ve really got to look at what we are doing there. And we are looking at it and trying to figure it out, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”

Early in the fourth quarter, it was a 10-point game, Bucks 92 and the Nets 82. But, the Nets just couldn’t get over the hump. They had too many missed opportunities in the fourth quarter, shooting 2-for-14 over the first six minutes. Meanwhile, the Bucks knocked down three 3s in less than 90 seconds.

“I think our offense got really stagnant,” Atkinson said. “Give them credit, they switched a lot of our stuff and forced us into a lot of one-and-one play and the ball stopped moving.”

In the win, Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo had 23 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, Jabari Parker scored 22 points, and Malcolm Brogdon and Tony Snell each added 13 points.

Brook Lopez posted 15 points for the Nets. Sean Kilpatrick, who was signed out of the D-League last season, and who scored a career-high 38 points against the Clippers on Tuesday, only scored 14 points tonight. Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 for the Nets.

This was not a fun game to watch. Only the presence of former president Bill Clinton, a marriage proposal, and Clinton taking a photo with the engaged couple made it interesting.

Next up, the Nets have an opportunity to avenge the loss as they play the Bucks again on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Nets blow nine-point lead; DeMarcus Cousins drops 37 points on Nets in win for the Kings

Sean Kilpatrick scored 22 points, Brook Lopez had 17 points; Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 points, and Isaiah Whitehead chipped in 11 points for the Nets, in their loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. In losing 122-105, the Nets have lost seven straight games.

The Nets kept it competitive through the first half; leading the Kings 35-31 at the end of the first quarter and 59-58 at the end of the first half. However, the third quarter arrived and as in games in the recent past, things began to unravel in a way that no one seems to be able to explain.

“I don’t know,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We have to fix the third quarter blues. For some reason, we don’t come out with the requisite and the energy that we need to. We felt that and I think we called a timeout and addressed it, so we need to figure that one out because that’s hurting us. We cut it to six like you said, made a run there with that group and again they made some shots and we turned the ball over a few times.”

That ball movement in the direction of Sacramento translated into starters DeMarcus Cousins scoring 37 points and 11 rebounds; Rudy Gay posting up 22 points and eight rebounds; and Darren Collison adding 18 points; while Ty Lawson chipped in 13 points off the bench.

Most Nets games are generally run of the mill, but it took Sacramento’s Matt Barnes to make a hockey game out of an NBA basketball game by clocking Brooklyn’s Kilpatrick for seemingly no reason. The officials promptly ejected Barnes for a Flagrant Foul 2 on Kilpatrick with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter and Sacramento leading 97-79. Brooklyn then went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to 99-93, but Sacramento responded with a 16-0 run of its own to extend the lead to 115-93.

“It was more of a why, why would you do that, but I mean it was still the same mentality. It was the same killer mentality,” Kilpatrick stated regarding the Matt Barnes hit. “You gotta keep continuing to try to destroy anybody that’s in your way and I think that’s something that told me to get up. I mean at the end of the day if were down 10 and I go down like that and were on a roll, I mean that’s not gonna stop me. I mean I gotta get up and keep playing and I think that’s something that triggered me off the way it did. ”

Next up at home for the Brooklyn Nets is a date with the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m., and still no word when Jeremy Lin will return.

Portland’s McCollum, Lillard, and Turner lift team over Nets; Brook Lopez leads Nets in scoring despite loss

The Portland Trail Blazers came into the Barclays Center to play the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon. Both teams were hoping to turn around a three-game losing streak. The Nets lost their third straight game to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 124-105 loss on the road on Friday. Unfortunately for the Nets, the Blazers came out ahead extending Brooklyn’s skid to four; the score: Portland 129; Brooklyn 109.

The Nets kept the game competitive for the first half; they were only down by three at the end of the first quarter (32-29) and down by just six at the end of the first half (70-64). However, the third quarter is becoming an abyss for the Nets.

"I think one of the things that is difficult for us is the third quarters," Nets center Brook Lopez said. "I think there are usually games where we've come out and teams have made a run and come out and hit first. It is tough to come back from that playing behind the rest of the night."

"I just think we come out flat,” Lopez added. “I think it's on us 100 percent. I mean, I don't think you can look at the other teams. We've had a variety of different guys, and they play differently. I think that one is on us for sure."

C.J. McCollum took over in the third quarter setting the Trail Blazers up for the win. McCollum scored 33 points, Evan Turner had 19 points, and Damian Lillard posted 18 points and five assists.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Trevor Booker scored 16 points, Bojan Bogdanovic posted 15 points; and Isaiah Whitehead and Justin Hamilton chipped in 11 points each.

Hats off to Whitehead, he’s been filling in for Jeremy Lin and it’s been baptism by fire for the rookie player. Whitehead, who is looking to be a better player, didn’t hesitate to ask his idol Damian Lillard for a few pointers.

“While we were shooting free throws or they were shooting free throws, I was asking him questions,” Whitehead told reporters in the locker room after the game. “He’s either going to answer them or he’s not. He was great enough to answer them. I asked him how he got so quick and how do you read ball screens. I’m trying to learn as much as possible. I just went for it.”

Good for you, Isaiah Whitehead; and big ups to Lillard!

So when is Lin scheduled to return, inquiring minds want to know?

"Jeremy is progressing well," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "I can't give you a timetable or an update in terms of a specific day he's back. I just think he's progressing on schedule."

Brook Lopez scores season-high 34 points, which lifts Nets to a win over the Pistons with the loss of Jeremy Lin in 2nd half due to a hamstring injury

The 109-101 Brooklyn Nets win over the Detroit Pistons is just what this young Nets team needed after the two-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on the road on Saturday and a blowout 118-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls at home on Monday.

Brook Lopez grabbed a season-high 34 points in the win, with 24 of those points accumulated in the first half. He also amassed 11 rebounds, nine of those in the defensive column. And, the big guy didn’t stop there. Lopez has been working on his three-point shooting skills and is reaping the rewards; he connected on four of eight attempts from three-point range.

Coming off the bench, shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick was the second highest scorer for the Nets, netting 24 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Harris pulled in 13 points; Bojan Bogdanovic posted 11 points, and Jeremy Lin scored 10 points and four assists before leaving the game because of a hamstring injury.

Brooklyn Nets forward Trevor Booker didn’t score in double digits, but his defensive skills came in handy. Detroit forward Marcus Morris hit a 3-pointer with 2:37 to go putting the score at 103-98 and diminishing the Pistons’ deficit to five points. Detroit tried to make a run to make it a one-possession game, as guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope got to the rim at the one-minute mark. However, Booker stepped in with a block denying Caldwell-Pope the shot.

“That was spectacular, but that’s part of who Trevor Booker is and why we brought him here – how hard he plays and his defensive instincts,” said Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. “It was really evident on that play. It’s funny, that was a great block, but I thought a lot of guys stepped up at the end, made big defensive plays, big defensive rebounds against a good team.”

The Nets road to a win over the Pistons wasn’t a total walk in the park.

In addition to losing Jeremy Lin, the Nets blew a 16-point halftime lead. In the closing minutes of the game, it was the Pistons’ foul trouble that enabled the Nets to put more daylight between the teams.

In the loss, Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris each scored 23 points for Detroit. Kentavious Coldwell-Pope added 15 points and seven rebounds.

Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo, Dwayne Wade team up to push back Nets 118-88

The Chicago Bulls came into the Barclays Center on Halloween night to play the Brooklyn Nets with an undefeated 2-0 record; and it was apparent from the start, that the Bulls were determined to leave with its undefeated record intact.

Although Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez won the tip over his brother Robin, the Bulls set the tone early, running roughshod over the Nets, taking the First Quarter 38-20. Bulls forward Jimmy Butler wasted no time making his presence felt early. Butler knocked down 13 of his 22 points in the first quarter.

“I think they are playing with more pace,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson stated. “I think (Bulls point guard Rajon) Rondo helps with that. He pushed the ball up the court. They’re versatile off the bench so they can give you different looks with (Nikola) Mirotic coming off shooting. I think they set the tone, they set the pace, they really made their imprint on the game and we definitely did not have it tonight.”

“They were the more aggressive team,” Atkinson continued. “I thought they really came out and really got into us. I thought, for some reason, we were back on our heels a little bit and they took advantage of that. Give them credit. I thought they played really well. They played a great game.”

There’s no question the Bulls played really well. The numbers tell the story.

Nets shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic led all Nets players with 15 points. Other Nets players in double digits were Jeremy Lin with 14 points, four assists, and four steals. Sean Kilpatrick and Brook Lopez each scored 13 points. A telling stat regarding Lopez, he only had two boards and both were offensive rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Bulls had seven players in double digits. Two of the top three Bulls scorers came off the bench. Butler led all players with 22 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Mirotic posted 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists off the bench. Isaiah Canaan, another backup player, scored 15 points and six assists. Bulls starting forward Taj Gibson contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds. Dwyane Wade, against a backdrop of cheers, showed the crowd he still has it, tallying 12 points, four assists, and three each in the rebound and steals columns.

It’s early in the season, but the Nets have to get the fire in the belly and stand up to the better teams, or it’s going to be a painful season.

Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin, and Sean Kilpatrick lead Nets in victory over Pacers, final score Brooklyn 103; Indiana 94

The Brooklyn Nets kicked off its first home game of the season on Friday night with a check mark in the win column. Taking on the Indiana Pacers, the Nets showed the home crowd at the Barclays Center that they are trying to live up to their marketing slogan, We Came to Play.

With only four players in double digits, versus the Pacers five players, the Nets hammered the Pacers 103-94.

“Man, I’m just happy for that group in there,” said an elated Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. “They’ve been working their tails off, and I was happy with our defense. Just a great job, great job by our guys.”

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez led all players with 25 points and five rebounds. The “big man” even grabbed a steal. Nets starting point guard Jeremy Lin notched 21 points and just missed a triple-double in his Nets home debut with nine rebounds and nine assists. Nets shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick, who was a great pickup for the Nets last season, came off the bench with 18 points and five rebounds. Additionally, Kilpatrick hit consecutive 3-pointers during the decisive fourth-quarter. Forward Trevor Booker didn’t disappoint, he turned in 10 points and 11 points.

Coach Atkinson didn’t miss heaping praise on Kilpatrick.

“Sean was great,” Atkinson said. “Listen, Sean has had a fantastic summer. He played great in Summer League, and he has just worked so hard. So it’s great to see him have a good night.”

Pacers point guard Paul George led all Indiana scorers with 22 points and nine rebounds. Former Brooklyn Nets player Thaddeus Young, who now wears the gold and blue, scored 19 points and 8 rebounds for the Pacers. CJ Miles came off the bench and scored 15 points and six rebounds.

It goes without saying that the fans left the Barclays Center in a state of euphoria.

The next home game is on Monday, October 31 (Halloween) against the Chicago Bulls; things could get scary!

NY Jets win a game against the Baltimore Ravens, but Geno Smith is out with torn ACL; NCAA puts Rick Pitino on the hot seat

The panel of Keisha Wilson, Mike McDonald, and Sydney Wayman are talking about:

What's Poppin

• The NY Giants, NFL, and Josh Brown Domestic Violence Issue/Dilemma
• Sam Bradford and the Minnesota Vikings lose their first game of the season at the hand of Mychal Kendricks and the Philadelphia Eagles
• The NY Jets manage to win a game against the Baltimore Ravens with Geno Smith as quarterback along with Ryan Fitzpatrick who came in when Geno suffered a torn ACL. However, Fitzpatrick’s postgame comments raised lots of eyebrows because he took a swipe at head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the NY Jets organization sounding like he was benched after winning all season, which could be further from the truth.
• Is Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis enabling bad behavior from Vontaze Burfict

Under The Radar

• University of Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino comes under fire from the NCAA after reports of a brothel-like atmosphere occurred for the pleasure of Louisville basketball players and recruits

On The Bench

• New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose and the jurors of his civil rape case are on the bench for posing for photos after the jurors found Rose not liable

The Nets at the Lakers in VR is scheduled for November 15, 2016, at 7:30 ET; the first Knicks game in VR is when the team hosts the Trailblazers on Nov. 22nd, also at7:30 p.m.

Virtual Reality aka “VR” is the next new thing; even retailer Target is selling VR “glasses” to put under the Christmas tree this season, along with Apple watches.

Now it’s official, the forward-thinking NBA that loves bringing exciting entertainment to its fans is getting into the VR act. Today, the NBA confirmed a list of matchups and dates, which will be one game every Tuesday, except February because of the NBA All-Star break.

Don’t worry your favorite team will appear at least once, some will appear more than once.

The full schedule of NBA games in VR listed is below, brought to you by a partnership between NextVR and the NBA, so mark your calendar for your favorite match-up and the feeling of being courtside wherever you are:

• Oct. 27, 2016 – San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings – 10:30 p.m. ET
• Nov. 1, 2016 – Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers – 7:00 p.m. ET
• Nov. 8, 2016 – Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00 p.m. ET
• Nov. 15, 2016 – Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 p.m. ET
• Nov. 22, 2016 – Portland Trail Blazers at New York Knicks – 7:30 p.m. ET
• Nov. 29, 2016 – Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Dec. 6, 2016 – New York Knicks at Miami Heat – 7:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 13, 2016 – Golden State Warriors at New Orleans Pelicans – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Dec. 20, 2016 – Denver Nuggets at LA Clippers – 10:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 27, 2016 – Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics – 7:30 p.m. ET
• Jan. 3, 2017 – Toronto Raptors at San Antonio Spurs – 8:30 p.m. ET
• Jan. 10, 2017 – Cleveland Cavaliers at Utah Jazz – 9:00 p.m. ET
• Jan. 17, 2017 – Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs – 8:30 p.m. ET
• Jan. 24, 2017 – Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards – 7:00 p.m. ET
• Jan. 31, 2017 – Sacramento Kings at Houston Rockets – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Feb. 7, 2017 – Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 p.m. ET
• Feb. 14, 2017 – Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Feb. 23, 2017 – Portland Trail Blazers at Orlando Magic – 7:00 p.m. ET
• Feb. 28, 2017 – Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder – 8:00 p.m. ET
• March 7, 2017 – Washington Wizards at Phoenix Suns – 9:00 p.m. ET
• March 14, 2017 – Philadelphia 76ers at Golden State Warriors – 10:30 p.m. ET
• March 21, 2017 – Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 p.m. ET
• March 28, 2017 – Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons – 7:30 p.m. ET
• April 4, 2017 – Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors – 10:30 p.m. ET
• April 11, 2017 – Charlotte Hornets at Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 p.m. ET

And, wait, there’s more! According to the NBA, the deal with NextVR includes highlights, condensed games, and full game recaps in VR on NextVR after the game. If you don’t have an NBA League Pass, you better get one because you need to be an NBA League Pass subscriber to stream these games each week. Additionally, you’ll do so within NextVR’s app for Gear VR, not within the League Pass app.

Have another VR headset? NextVR also says that other VR headsets will be supported later this season. So, you won’t need to run out and buy a NextVR headset unless you just can’t wait to see an NBA game in VR, and/or your team or favorite matchup is slated early in the season.

The Brooklyn Nets closes out its preseason with an eye on progress, development, and improvement

Instead of starting this article at the beginning, I am going to start at the end of the first half of last night’s Brooklyn Nets’ preseason game against the New York Knicks.

The Nets ended the first half leading the Knicks by two points, with a score of 57-55. If you have watched the Nets in previous seasons since coming to the Barclays Center, you probably noticed a different style of play on the floor. The Nets under new management, general manager Sean Marks, and head coach Kenny Atkinson, have mandated and are stressing a new culture of “team” over “I” or “me” translating into unselfishness. Watching the Nets during the last two games, the team’s buy-in to the new system is apparent. Guys were playing unselfishly, the ball moved around, it was definitely team ball. In addition to the two-point lead at the half, the Nets led the Knicks in most of the measurable metrics that matter: field goal percentage 52.6 vs the Knicks 48.9 percent; three-point shots 46.7 vs the Knicks 20 percent, and the Nets made 91 percent of their free-throws compared to the Knicks 64 percent. However, the Knicks did outscore the Nets on rebounds; by half-time, the Knicks out-rebounded the Nets 20-18, which was a sign of things to come.

So, where did the Nets breakdown happen?

The Knicks took a nine-point lead in the third quarter on fast breaks, gaining 49 percent field goal shooting over the Nets’ 46 percent. The Knicks also out-rebounded the Nets; ending the third with a rebound score of 38-24, picking up 18 rebounds in the third quarter to the Nets’ four.

This was not lost on Atkinson.

“I think I said it before, I think rebounding is an issue right now and I think transition defense is something we need to work on, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said at the Nets post-game press conference. “They had a fair amount of fast break points so those are some areas we have to get better at.”

#Truth.

Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin led all scorers with 24 points and 10 assists. However, unlike the Knicks, the Nets only had two starters in double digits; the other being center Brook Lopez who supplied 12 points.

The Nets other double-digit scorers came from the bench Joe Harris scored 15 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 12 points, and Justin Hamilton chipped in 11 points.

Carmelo Anthony led Knicks scorers with 21 points. Starters Courtney Lee dropped 15 points and five rebounds; and Joakim Noah supplied 12 points and six rebounds.

Both benches contributed 59 points; coming off the Knicks bench in double digits were Justin Holiday with 14 points, Kyle Quinn added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Mindaugas Kuzminskas chipped in 10 points.

“I was proud of our guys at the end,” Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek said about his secondary line. “They ended up putting their starters back in I think with a nine or 10-point game and when they went out it was eight points.”

Even in the loss, Atkinson complimented his players, as he should have.

“I complimented them on their effort and despite the record, I think we’ve made progress,” Atkinson told the media. “And that’s going to be our message all year, progress, development, improvement. We obviously have areas we have to improve in but again, 10 new players and I like a lot of stuff I see. I think where we are right now is be a little bit more consistent. And that’s the tough part in the NBA over a 48-minute game, to do it longer than the other team. So that’s the overall positive message.”

The Brooklyn Nets are now focused on the regular season. The Nets first regular season game is against the Boston Celtics in Boston on Wednesday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. The Nets open up at home at the Barclays Center against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Perhaps, the fans will give Thaddeus Young a warm welcome when he hits the hardwood for the Indiana Pacers.

The Nets dealt Young to the Pacers on NBA Draft night for Caris LeVert, the No. 20 overall pick and for a future second-round pick. Levert did not play last night because he is out with an injured left foot.