Month: March 2009

Daniel Goldstein fighting Brooklyn Nets

The New Jersey Nets want to move to Brooklyn and become the Brooklyn Nets — unless they change the “Nets” name, which is possible but the guess is they keep it — but they have not yet been able to start the project due to various legal issues. The New York Daily News (Mike Lupica) reports:

Ratner owns another building on Pacific, empty now except for one apartment, the one owned by Daniel Goldstein, who still lives there with his wife and their child and fights on 5½  years after Ratner officially announced his plans for Ratner World. When Goldstein moved to Brooklyn in the 1990s, he worked as a graphic designer. Now his full-time job is with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and standing in there against Ratner and the Empire State Development Corp. He has been at this a long time, and plans to stay at it, even as Brett Yormark, the Nets CEO, promises that the Nets will be in Brooklyn for the 2011-12 season. “We’re like a resistance movement,” Goldstein was saying Saturday. Then he laughed and said, “Or maybe the U.S. soldiers who kept fighting in Japan after the war was over.”

Speaking now as a New Yorker who looks forward to being able to take the subway to both Knicks and Nets games, I think Daniel Goldstein is a jackass. More from the Daily News:

“There is no way the lawsuits can be resolved before the summer,” Goldstein said. “And if they haven’t broken ground before this year is over, there is a chance the whole thing falls apart.” He laughed then and said, “But that is all speculative. They are still adamant about building the arena and they are tough opponents and they have an approved project of this size in New York City. And they know that if they show signs of giving up, they could lose the rights to the land.”

And more:

Goldstein says that the offer was the same other people got from Ratner: 850 dollars per square foot. He says that he and his wife have their savings. He talks about the paycheck he receives from Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. He talks about financial hardship and says that he doesn’t know how long he can stay at this.

Again, speaking as a biased New Yorker for a moment rather than an objective journalist, I hope Daniel Goldstein loses his job and can’t afford to keep this up much longer. I want to go see the Brooklyn Nets.

Nets still fighting for playoffs

The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports:  Even with the recent flubs, the Nets (28-37, a season-worst nine games under .500) are amid the six teams fighting for the last spot. They came out of Friday one-half game away from Milwaukee and Chicago, who were in a virtual tie for eighth, while being tied with the Knicks and Charlotte. “We can outscore anybody for three quarters. But when it comes down to fourth-quarter play, it’s about can we stop ’em?” Devin Harris said. “In games we won, we’ve done that. In the games we lost, we haven’t… We’re still right there. It’s not like [other] teams are moving up – they’re losing just as much as us.” That may be the biggest consolation for the Nets – pretty much everybody else stinks, too.

Barbosa’s late surge helps Suns beat Thunder

The AP reports: The way things have been going lately, the Phoenix Suns will gladly take a sputtering victory over Oklahoma City. The 106-95 win Saturday night lacked the impressiveness of Phoenix’s 140-118 romp over the Thunder three weeks ago, but it was good enough to snap a six-game losing streak, the Suns’ longest in four seasons… Leandro Barbosa scored 11 of his 22 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes. Nash added 18 points and eight assists for Phoenix but saw his career-best streak of seven 20-point games come to an end. Grant Hill added 16 points… Kevin Durant, back after missing seven games with a sprained right ankle, scored 22 and Russell Westbrook 20 for the Thunder, who led by 13 in the first half.

Nuggets beat Clippers, spoil return of Camby

The AP reports: After getting a rousing ovation and a hug from a little girl sitting courtside who was wearing one of his old Nuggets jerseys, Marcus Camby watched Nene and Renaldo Balkman each post a double-double in Denver’s 107-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night… Camby struggled with his shot, scoring 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and pulling down 11 rebounds. Balkman scored a career-best 22 points to go with his 11 rebounds—his second straight double-double playing in place of Martin (back)—and Nene scored 17 points and pulled down 10 boards. Carmelo Anthony added 18 points and J.R. Smith 17 for Denver. Al Thornton led Los Angeles with 19 points.

Parker scores 28 as Spurs beat Rockets 88-85

The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 28 points, Tim Duncan added 15 points and 12 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 88-85 on Saturday night. Parker also had eight assists and Michael Finley added 17 points for the Spurs, who came up with two defensive stops in the final 15 seconds to beat the Rockets for the 12th time in the last 17 meetings. Ron Artest scored 21 points and Yao Ming had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who’ve lost two straight home games after winning the previous 12… Aaron Brooks scored 18 points for the Rockets, but went 7-for-18 from the field.

Gordon, Salmons lead Bulls over Hornets, 97-79

The AP reports: Ben Gordon scored 27 points, John Salmons added 24, and the Chicago Bulls pounded the surging New Orleans Hornets 97-79 Saturday night despite another strong effort by Chris Paul. Back home after an 0-3 road trip, the Bulls wasted little time taking it to a Western Conference contender… Paul scored 29 after back-to-back 30 point performances despite the Bulls’ best efforts to contain him… Salmons buried 5-of-8 3s, while Gordon rebounded from two subpar performances by hitting 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Brad Miller added 15 points and nine rebounds for Chicago, which sandwiched dramatic losses at Miami and at Philadelphia in the old Spectrum around a blowout at Orlando.

Love scores 22, Timberwolves beat Bobcats 108-100

The AP reports: Rookie Kevin Love scored 22 points, Rodney Carney and Ryan Gomes added 21 each and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Charlotte Bobcats 108-100 on Saturday night. Craig Smith had 15 points for the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game skid against Charlotte and handed the Bobcats their third straight loss. Gerald Wallace had 26 points to lead Charlotte, Raja Bell scored 21 and D.J. Augustin finished with 18. The Bobcats, whose skid follows a team-record, six-game winning streak, entered the day one-half game behind Chicago and Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

Wade gets 50, Heat beat Jazz in 3OT

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade finished with 50 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in another dazzling show, Jermaine O’Neal added 28 points and the Heat pulled off two huge last-ditch rallies before beating the Utah Jazz in a triple-overtime epic, 140-129 on Saturday… Wade tied his career high in scoring, set new bests in minutes (52 1/2 ), field goals made (19) and attempted (39), plus passed Alonzo Mourning to become Miami’s all-time points leader… Mario Chalmers scored 23 points for Miami, which shot 35-for-39 from the foul line and moved a season-high seven games over .500 (36-29). The Heat also got back within 1 1/2 games of Atlanta for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and improved to 5-0 in overtime this season. Deron Williams scored 30 points and had 13 assists for the Jazz, who also got a season-high 25 points from Kyle Korver, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Carlos Boozer finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.

Jackson, Ellis lead Warriors over Mavericks

The AP reports: Stephen Jackson scored 31 points, Monta Ellis had season highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors put a dent into Dallas’ playoff run, beating the Mavericks 119-110 Friday night… Jason Kidd recorded his second triple-double of the season with 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Kidd has 102 career triple-doubles, third on the list behind Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138). Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and Jason Terry added 20… The Warriors lost center Andris Biedrins to a sprained left ankle after eight minutes, but Ronny Turiaf had another big game in his place.

LeBron’s 51 points give Cavs the Central title

The AP reports: LeBron James’ triple-double streak is over, though so is Cleveland’s division title drought. James scored 51 points, including six in overtime, and the Cavaliers clinched the Central Division title Friday night with a 126-123 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Although James failed to extend his triple-double streak to four games, he was clearly the difference, scoring a combined 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. He added nine assists while falling five points short of his career high… Anderson Varejao had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which secured its first division title since 1976 and just the second in franchise history… Kevin Martin scored 34 points for the Kings, who fell to 0-25 against the Eastern Conference. Bobby Jackson and Jason Thompson both had 19 points and Will Solomon scored 18.