The Brooklyn Nets stayed with Boston Celtics to the end, but could not close the deal

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and last night at the Barclays Center, it sounded as if every Boston Celtics fan from New England was in attendance to root for the Celtics. It was so loud I’m surprised the players could hear each other on the floor.

Unfortunately for the Nets, the luck of the Irish traveled with the Boston Celtics and their fans, as the Celtics pulled out a squeaker routing the Brooklyn Nets 98-95.

It didn’t help that the Nets went scoreless for five minutes in the latter portion of the first quarter, ending that stanza 21-16.

Brook Lopez started a rally for the Nets in the second quarter, coming out the gate scoring the team’s first five points. With a three-pointer, Jeremy Lin helped to create a 10-1 run. But that didn’t hold back the Celtics, they came roaring back with an 11-1 run led by Jae Crowder. The Nets stayed in the hunt until the last buzzer sounded. They ended the second quarter with an eight-point deficit (45-37), and the third with a six-point deficit (71-65).

The Nets had two opportunities to tie up the game in the final nine seconds. However, both Lopez and Quincy Acy missed three-pointers with seemingly good looks.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson saw a silver lining even in his team’s defeat against the Celtics who stand just two wins behind the Eastern Conference frontrunner, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I think Brook (Lopez) helped us,” Atkinson said. “I thought the first half, we were in pick and roll 98 percent of the first half and it was just too much. We were giving them one dose of the same thing over and over. And then I felt like in the second half we started getting Brook some touches in the post and not just to score, but it just loosened up the defense. Even if he kicks it out for a shot or we’re getting them cuts off the post, so I think that helped us. It helped us penetrate their defense a little and I just felt like in the first half we weren’t getting into the teeth of the defense. So I think that’s what they learned. We can post up a little against this team and give them a little more variety.”

Four of the five Celtics starters scored in double digits. Crowder led all scorers with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Avery Bradley scored 16 points and five rebounds; Al Horford added 14 points and eight rebounds; and Marcus Smart chipped in 12 points and five assists.

Similar to the Celtics, four of the five Nets starters scored in double digits. Lopez had a team-high 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Randy Foye scored 14 points, Jeremy Lin and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each scored 10 points with Lin adding seven rebounds and six assists, while Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 5 rebounds.

Off the bench for the Nets, newcomer Andrew Nicholson scored 11 points, and Acy chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.

Next up, the Nets will play the Dallas Mavericks at home on Sunday.

On Biggie Night, the Nets get their first win of 2017 and their first win in three months

On so many levels it was Biggie Night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday, as the Brooklyn Nets took on their cross-town rivals, the New York Knicks. At the top of the evening, the Barclays Center celebrated the life of Christopher Wallace aka the Notorious B.I.G aka Biggie Smalls, with a remembrance. A Brooklyn-born rapper, Wallace, was murdered 20 years ago this week. Voletta Wallace, Biggie’s mom; and Biggie’s children T-Yanna and CJ Wallace; Faith Evans, Wallace’s former wife; P. Diddy; Lil’ Kim; and Brett Yormark; CEO of the Barclays Center, were part of the on-court ceremony before the game.

Ms. Wallace said tonight’s game was her “very, very first professional basketball game.” In her remarks, she also said, "I have to remember what my son said in the past, Brooklyn, we did it."

And, that my friends, kicked off the evening for the Brooklyn Nets as team Black and White got its first home win in over two months beating the New York Knicks 120-112. Yes, Brooklyn, you did it! The Nets last home win was on December 26, when Randy Foye’s buzzer-beater dashed the hopes of the Charlotte Hornets. This was the same game that Jeremy Lin re-injured his left hamstring, which resulted in Lin missing the next 26 games.

Lin struggled early tonight with a 0-9 start. However, late in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks had trimmed its 22-point deficit to down to five, Lin dropped a 3-pointer pushing the score to 109-101 with 4:58 remaining. Lin also converted a three-point play with 3:25 giving the Nets a double-digit lead.

“I think I was still out West for the first three-and-a-half quarters,” Lin said about his performance. “And gladly I was able to show up a little bit; felt like I was letting my team down. I don’t know, just wasn’t doing what I needed to do, but I just tried to stay aggressive and just try to keep my mind just on playing…”

Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson wasn’t quite as hard on Lin as Lin was on himself.

“I thought he hit a huge three off the dribble,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said about Lin’s late game contribution. “They’d been going under all night and to have the kind of moxie to take that shot, that was big. His ability to get to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter is huge. I think it helps when it’s not Isaiah (Whitehead) and Spencer (Dinwiddie) first-year guys kind of handling the ball at the end of the game. To get a guy that has been in the league and has done it before, it’s huge for us.”

In the victory for the Nets, Brook Lopez came in on fiyah!!! He scored 25 points, two assists, six rebounds, one block, and one steal while shooting eight of seventeen from the floor and six of nine from deep in 28 minutes.

“I think we were shooting with a lot of confidence and making them,” said Lopez. “Our team did a very great job of sharing the ball. It started with the penetration, attacking the basket and that opened a lot of things up for us. When we kicked out, we swung it around the perimeter until we had an open look and we shot with confidence.”

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 27 points on 10-of-26 shooting. Although the Knicks lost, Anthony joined an elite NBA club that many Knicks fans could care less about considering the team’s record. Anthony is one of three players to have scored over 10,000 points on two different teams (Denver, New York); the other two are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee, Lakers) and Elvin Hayes (Houston, Washington).

Brooklyn shot .500 from 3-point range tonight on 19-of-38 shooting from the distance. Lopez was a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc to start off the game. The Nets’ 19 3-pointers marked a season high (previous high: 17 made 3-pointers; done three times this season, most recently on January 21, 2017, at Charlotte).

"I don't know what the thinking was to start of the game," New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We gave Brooklyn wide-open shots. They kept making three after three. There were one or two of those pressure threes. It was like practice shots for Brooklyn."

The Nets made 14 threes in tonight’s first half, which marked a new franchise record for 3-pointers made in any half. The previous high of 13 in the second half was on December 16, 2013, against Philadelphia.

Nets starters helping out Lopez in the double-digit range were Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who scored 14 points and 11 rebounds; Jeremy Lin and Caris LeVert each scored 13 points.

The Nets’ bench outscored the Knicks’ bench 53-28 tonight and has scored 50+ points in nine of its last 10 games.

Off the bench with more than 10 points for the Nets were Trevor Booker with 14 points and nine rebounds; Quincy Acy, a relatively new pickup for the Nets, added 12 points and six rebounds; while Isaiah Whitehead chipped in 10 points.

In the win, the Nets also out-rebounded the Knicks 55-43 tonight and also edged New York 18-13 in second chance points and 21-12 in fast-break points.

With a win against the Knicks, the Nets hope to make it two-in-a-row, as they take on Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Good luck.

Today, the New York Liberty, a WNBA team, issued a statement that Tanisha Wright will not be joining the team during the 2017 WNBA Season.

“I want to inform our fans that Tanisha Wright has decided she will take time away from the game to rest during the 2017 WNBA season,” Isiah Thomas, New York Liberty President, said via a press release. “Tanisha has the full support of the New York Liberty organization as she does what is best for her health and future.”

“Tanisha has played a pivotal role in all our success both on and off the court over the past two seasons,” Thomas continued. “As a leader in the locker room and the community; she has been a tremendous ambassador for the WNBA and our franchise. We wish her all of the best as she takes time to rest and recover, and hope to see her back in a New York Liberty uniform in the future.”

A graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, Wright was drafted by the Seattle Storm (WNBA) 12th overall in 2005. Wright helped the Seattle Storm win its second championship in 2010. On February 2, 2015, Wright signed as a free agent with the New York Liberty. In between WNBA seasons, Wright has played on overseas teams in Israel, France, Poland, and Turkey, where she is currently playing according to Wikipedia.

Brooklyn Nets acquire first round draft pick, Andrew Nicholson and Marcus Thornton from Washington Wizards

As the NBA trade deadline approached, those who follow the Brooklyn Nets closely wondered if a trade deal would happen. Weeks before the deadline, there was lots of speculation swirling around Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic. So, it’s no surprise that the Nets traded “Bogie”. The knock, if you want to call it a knock, is that although Bogdanovic is a great three-point shooter, he lacked consistency. Also, his laid-back style, fairly or unfairly, seemingly translated into aloofness.

Bogdanovic played in 212 games (121 starts) with the Nets, registering averages of 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 25.7 minutes per game. In 55 games this season, Bogdanovic has recorded averages of 14.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.9 minutes per game. The 27-year-old was originally acquired by the Nets in a draft-night trade with Miami (via Minnesota) after he was selected with the 31st pick (second round) in the 2011 NBA Draft. He signed a multi-year contract with Brooklyn prior to the start of the 2014-15 NBA season.

Chris McCullough, on the other hand, is a relative newbie; this is only his second year in the NBA. McCullough appeared in 38 games in two seasons with the Nets, registering averages of 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game. This season, McCullough spent his time going back and forth between the Nets and its D-League team, the Long Island Nets.

Fair Trade: NETS and Wizards

In the trade, the Nets acquired a 2017 first round draft pick, and Washington players Andrew Nicholson and Marcus Thornton. The Nets will be able to use the first-round selection from Washington as long as the Wizards don’t end the season in the bottom 14, right now they are No. 8 in the league.

Nicholson has appeared in 28 games with Washington this season after signing with the team as a free agent on July 7, 2016, recording averages of 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. Prior to joining the Wizards, Nicholson spent the first four seasons of his NBA career (2012-16) with the Orlando Magic, appearing in 247 games and posting averages of 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game. The 27-year-old native of Mississauga, Ontario was originally selected with the 19th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by Orlando after a standout four-year career at St. Bonaventure University, where he earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors, as well as All-American Honorable Mention, while leading the Bonnies to their first-ever Atlantic 10 Tournament title in his senior season.

Thornton has appeared in 483 career games with New Orleans, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Boston, Phoenix, Houston, and Washington recording averages of 11.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. In 33 games this season with Washington, Thornton has averaged 6.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.4 minutes per game.

WATCH VIDEO: Sports fans from Brooklyn College weigh-in on who will win the 2017 NBA All-Star Game

Will it be the NBA's Eastern Conference or the Western Conference that wins the 2017 NBA All-Star Game tonight.

Watch Video: Fans Talk About Charles Oakley's Ejection from Madison Square Garden by Knicks Owner Jim Dolan

In this video, NY Knicks fans weigh in on the former New York Knicks player Charles Oakley and NY Knicks owner Jim Dolan fiasco.

On February 8, 2017, during a New York Knicks vs. Los Angeles Clippers game at Madison Square Garden, NY Knicks owner Jim Dolan ordered Madison Square Garden security to eject Oakley from the arena.

From Oakley's radio interviews after he was tossed from The Garden, there appears to be a long-running dispute between former New York Knicks player and the Knicks owner, but no one seems to know why.

What's in dispute is was Charles Oakley behaving badly before security arrived as Dolan stated or, was Oakley's belligerent behavior caught on videotape was as a result of the way MSG security approached him to have him removed from the arena. Oakley was eventually ejected from the Madison Square Garden and arrested by NYPD.

Most NY Knicks fans find it hard to believe that Jim Dolan would treat Charles Oakley in the manner that he was treated and then almost immediately issued a press release insinuating that Oakley has problems and is in need of help.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver did try to mediate the issue between Oakley and Dolan with an in-person meeting on February 13, 2017, which included Michael Jordan by telephone. However, from interviews given by Oakley after the meeting, he needs time to process all that has happened in the last 10 days and won't be satisfied until Dolan issues a public apology.

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The Memphis Grizzlies lived up to their name on Monday night at the Barclays Center, getting off to a fast and deep start mauling the Nets and ultimately winning the session 112-103.

It wasn’t a blow-out, but with Mike Conley’s game-high 32 points for the Grizzlies juxtaposed to the Nets high scorers Brook Lopez and Spencer Dinwiddie's lowly 17 points each, it just looks worse than it was. But, then again, anytime you lose is not a good thing.

The Nets led the first quarter 19-17 before the Grizzlies went on a 10-0 run ending the quarter 27-19 and then keeping the lead without looking back.

The Nets didn’t go away quietly, scoring 30 points in the third quarter to pull within seven. But, basketball is a game of runs and a Grizzlies run with two minutes remaining in the fourth, kept the Nets at bay.

“They’re an excellent team,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said regarding the Grizzlies. “You know (Mike) Conley really gave us a lot of issues with the pick and roll. I forget, it was you know - made a lot of big shots at the end. It’s tough. They have rollers going down, down the gut of your defense. You have him coming off and you’re trying to – it is a tough play to stop. I thought Brook (Lopez) did a pretty good job on (Marc) Gasol. I thought he fought and did a good job. I just thought the pick and roll defense really hurt us tonight. You know a lot of that has to do with them and Conley, I thought he was really good but I thought we did some good things. I thought we had a ton of looks in the first half, a ton of open looks. I think we were 5-for-19 from 3. We had opportunities, I felt like some decent looks and we just didn’t convert at a high enough level but that is an excellent team right there.”

“That’s a very good team we just played and I think the good thing is we were out there, we competed until the end and we were aggressive and physical with them,” Lopez told reporters post game. “They definitely make their mark by grinding games out and being tough, being physical and I think we responded to that; we didn’t back down, definitely. And we came out in the second half and answered right back and made them call the first timeout.”

For the Grizzlies’ win, Marc Gasol had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Brandan Wright added 17 points, Vince Carter put up 14 points, and JaMychal Green chipped in 10 points and six points.

In the loss, Sean Kilpatrick scored 15 points and six rebounds for the Nets. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Trevor Booker each added 13 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 11 points and five rebounds.

Next up for the Nets will be the Milwaukee Bucks at home at the Barclays Center, tomorrow, February 15, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.

The Nets continue to lead early, but is still having troubling closing the deal

On January 25, 2017, the Miami Heat overcame an 18-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter and used a 15-2 run in final 4:35 to beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-106. Last night, the Heat came back to Brooklyn and the Nets pulled out the same playbook, led early and then gave up the lead in the end.  In so doing, the Heat overcame an 11-point, third-quarter deficit to capture a 108-99 victory.

"I don't what it is against [Brooklyn] but they always take the lead against us," said Miami guard Goran Dragic who scored 21 points and five assists. "I'm proud of our guys, how we responded and came back."

“Sometimes you just have to dig really deep and Brooklyn forced us to have to do that,” Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “It’s whatever it takes. The habit we’ve been taking all season long is that we’re a team that it takes a village. There’s not necessarily going to be one guy every single night to defend. We have to do it five-man basketball. Offensively, it’s different guys making different contributions on different nights.”

The Heat scorched the Nets in the second half, outscoring Brooklyn, 34-27, in the fourth. Again, turnovers worked against the Nets. Brooklyn had 22 turnovers to Miami’s 14.

“You felt it,” said Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson regarding the Nets turnovers and pressure from the Heat. “They made every catch tough. Bringing the ball up was a task, sideline out-of-bounds was a task. We had trouble getting open, so we’ll have to go back to the drawing board now and try to help our guys when the pressure is turned up like that, but credit to them. Again, I thought that small lineup really hurt us.”

“They hit us at a certain point and their physicality definitely had an effect,” Brook Lopez told reporters about the Heat’s defensive pressure. “I think we responded well but that initial bout, you know we definitely turned the ball over and they made a run but again I think we responded and we definitely went right back at them.”

In the loss, Lopez had a game-high 30 points and eight rebounds. Randy Foye scored 15 points (5-of-9 FG, 1-of-2 3FG, 4-of-4 FT) in 26 minutes tonight vs. the Heat. Foye’s 15 points last night mark his second-highest scoring output this season (behind a season-high 16 points on January 27th at Cleveland). Bojan Bogdanovic totaled 10 points with six rebounds in 29 minutes vs. Miami. Spencer Dinwiddie recorded a season-high-tying eight assists in 19 minutes tonight (he previously recorded eight assists on January 15th vs. Houston).

With this loss, the Nets fell to 9-45 overall and 7-22 at home. The Nets will host the Memphis Grizzlies next on Monday, February 13, at 7:30 p.m. EST at Barclays Center.

Lowry and Valanciunas drop one-two punch on the Nets; Lopez gets 29th game of 20-plus points this season, and Kilpatrick drops 20 points off the bench

It is Super Bowl Sunday and the Brooklyn Nets had a noon-time meeting with the Toronto Raptors. From a distance, it looked ominous because the Raptors were coming into the Barclays Center with a 3-0 record against the Nets this season. However, there was a glimmer of hope because Toronto was without Demar DeRozen, the team’s leading scorer and Kyle Lowry was playing with the flu. The hope continued through the first quarter with the Nets only down by two points 26-24. At the half, the hope was a little more guarded with the Nets down by eight 55-43, because we know this season’s history of third quarter breakdowns and the fact that the Nets shot less than 40 percent from the floor in the first half.

Alas, the Nets took us on a roller coaster ride during the third quarter, down by as much as 17 points. Trying to make a comeback, Brooklyn came within nine but ultimately closed the third with a 12-point deficit, 75-63; and then finishing the game 103-95.

The Raptors’ defensive push forced the Nets to turn over the ball, which stunted Nets’ ability to close the deal; and it wasn’t lost on Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.

“I think the number one reason is they’re really good at it,” said Atkinson explaining Toronto’s ability to force turnovers. “They strip you, they’re physical, they’ve got really good hands.”

“But I also think a fair amount of our turnovers were on the transition – advantage situations where we’re still not making the simple pass, you know, simple play,” Atkinson stated as he expanded on what he attributes to the Nets’ turnovers. “I thought in the second half we improved and that’s why we gave ourselves a chance because our defense was not great but decent enough to have a chance to win the game. So I’m glad we improved the turnover thing. We talked about it at halftime and so I’ll add to the turnover situation in the first half, I’ll add bad shot selection. It’s just that simple. I thought we took a lot of bad shots, a lot of quick shots and we were driving into a crowd a lot. The ball wasn’t moving side to side and then a drive when there’s an open hole. I think a lot of these turnovers are decisions, and our decision making wasn’t up to par in the first half. And again, the second half I thought that we improved.”

Although Jonas Valanciunas led all scorers with 22 points for the Raptors, Lowry, battling the flu, was a real spark for Toronto finishing with a triple-double scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds and assists. Terrence Ross added 17 points, DeMarre Carroll had 15 points and five rebounds, and Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet each scored 10 points, and Powell also added six rebounds.

For the Nets, Brook Lopez totaled a team-high 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. This is Lopez’s 29th game of 20-plus points this season. Sean Kilpatrick added 18 points and five rebounds off the bench, Trevor Booker earned a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 13 points.

Although the Nets fell to 9-42 overall and 7-20 at home with today’s loss, Lopez sees the team’s growth that may not be obvious to the casual observer.

“We obviously can look at personal growth, personal improvement, and team growth, and I think we obviously incrementally improved,” Lopez told the press in the locker room after the game.” It’s just a matter of, again, I’ve said it, but just being better for longer and being more consistent. It’s tough. We have a lot of young guys, a lot of guys who haven’t had a lot of experience in the league, and that’s why the things that really separate the great players, great teams, in this league is just coming out every night and performing at the same level. And again, I’ve got to do better at that, I’ve been guilty of that and I think we agree that we can be better when it comes to that.”

The Nets are on the road to play Charlotte on Tuesday and then come home to the Barclays Center to face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Brooklyn Nets could not contain the fiery Paul George

Paul George and Jeff Teague were the tag team that carried the Pacers to a 106-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Friday night. In the loss, the Nets dropped eight straight and 11 consecutive losses at home.

Brooklyn trailed for the entire game before taking its first lead 85-83 with 8:37 left on a 3-pointer from Quincy Acy, who just signed a multi-year contract with the Nets. Acy scored his eight points in 12:33 minutes. Although Acy was signed for his defensive skills and physicality, his 12 minutes were in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, Caris LeVert, who only scored four points, saw 29:42 minutes.

“I thought we needed his defense really at the end,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said about LeVert at a postgame presser. “I know we struggled offensively, but I feel very comfortable with having him out there. Defensive end, we knew that they were going to go to that one-three pick and roll, so putting him on (Jeff) Teague – turned out he got on Paul George after the switch and really did a good job – Paul hit a great shot with a hand in his face. So it was really defensively. And then offensively, sure, they’re young guys and sometimes they do too much and I think that’s our job. We have to rein them in a little bit and again improve our execution, help them make the simpler play, keep defining their roles and what we are looking from them offensively.”

George and Teague led all scorers with 24 points each and George added to his tally 11 rebounds. Helping out Indiana were Myles Turner and Aaron Brooks both with 11 points, and Thaddeus Young chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.

In the loss, Brook Lopez scored 23 points and six rebounds for the Nets. Sean Kilpatrick had 18 points, Joe Harris added 15 points, and Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in 13 points.

The Nets have had several close losses, even if they bounce back the next day, right after the loss you can tell it hurts.

“It’s not for lack of effort or lack of trying,” said Lopez after the Nets loss to the Pacers. “We just have to really get over that hump. It’s just going to take all of us being on the same page and working and believing we can do it in the last five or three minutes of the game.”

The Nets play Toronto on Sunday at 12 noon at the Barclays Center.