The AP reports: Ray Allen scored 25 points to lead the Celtics to a 105-85 win on Saturday afternoon. The Celtics put the game away in the opening quarter, taking an 18-2 lead behind nine points from Allen. Boston had beaten New Jersey by 32 points at home on Wednesday… Devin Harris and Vince Carter, the Nets leading scorers, had front row seats for the entire second half to watch the Celtics road show as New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank benched his two stars… Paul Pierce and Eddie House both had 13 points for the Celtics, while Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe each had 12. Rajon Rondo came close to a triple double with eight points, nine rebounds and 14 assists… Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 28 points and Jarvis Hayes added 15 for the Nets, who dropped their third straight game. Harris had seven points and Carter finished with five.
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Brandon Roy scores 29 to lead Portland over Nets
The AP reports: Jerryd Bayless got a chance to play with point guard Steve Blake sidelined with a separated shoulder and the Portland Trail Blazers’ rookie took advantage against the New Jersey Nets. Bayless scored a career-high 23 points and seemingly took the life out of the Nets with a monster dunk that he converted in a late three-point play in Portland’s 105-99 victory on Thursday night… Bayless was 6-for-9 from the field, with most coming on tough drives down the lane. He also was perfect on 11 free throws… “It was crazy,” said Brandon Roy, who led Portland with 29 points… LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and Travis Outlaw scored all 13 of his points in the second half, when the Trail Blazers rallied from an 11-point deficit. Devin Harris had 23 points and eight assists to lead New Jersey, who surrendered 37 fourth-quarter points as Portland hit 13 of 19 shots. Rookie Brook Lopez added 17 points, Bobby Simmons 14 and Vince Carter 13 while playing with a slightly sprained ankle.
Nenad Krstic already helping Thunder
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: It’s taken Nenad Krstic only five games to show Oklahoma City how much better he makes the Thunder. Krstic recorded his first double-double in Wednesday night’s 114-93 win over the Utah Jazz, scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes. He added two blocked shots for the fourth time in five games, continuing to contradict his critics who have labeled him a defensive liability. “He’s a great addition,” said Kevin Durant, who scored 21 points with nine rebounds. “He’s getting used to everybody. Any player would take a couple of games, but he’s getting used to it quick. He’s learning quick, and he’s doing well.” Because of his relatively cheap three-year contract at just less than $16 million, Krstic was a low-risk addition when Thunder general manager Sam Presti lured him away from his Russian club team.
Pierce leads Celtics past Nets
The AP reports: Paul Pierce brought the Boston Celtics to the midpoint of the season with their third straight win and with hope that they’ve regained the rhythm that produced a 27-2 start. Pierce shook off a cold first half and scored 18 points in the third quarter by going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers to lead the Celtics a 118-86 win over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night… Pierce led Boston with 22 points two nights after getting a season-high 39 in an overtime win over Toronto. The Nets also won in overtime that night, beating Oklahoma City… Kevin Garnett scored 20 points for the Celtics. The Nets were led by Devin Harris with 17 points, while Keyon Dooling and rookies Ryan Anderson and Brook Lopez had 13 each. Anderson made his second consecutive start in place of injured Yi Jianlian after sitting out the previous four games.
Nets team notes
Rookie forward Ryan Anderson made his first career start vs. Oklahoma City on 1/12. He tallied six points and a career-high tying nine rebounds in 27 minutes. Anderson, 20, was the third youngest Nets player to start in franchise history. Below are the five youngest players to start for the Nets in franchise history including Anderson’s expected start tonight.
Against Oklahoma City on 1/12, the Nets started two rookies, Anderson and Lopez, for the first time since March 5 of 2002 when Jason Collins and Richard Jefferson started at the LA Lakers in a 92-101 loss.
The Nets are currently riding their longest home winning streak of the season at four games… The last time New Jersey won four consecutive home games was last season with victories vs. Dallas on 2/10/08, vs. Minnesota on 2/12/08, vs. Indiana on 2/23/08 and vs. Milwaukee on 2/28/08.
The Nets are one of 12 NBA teams to have won 10-or-more games on the road this season. With the 114-103 victory at Charlotte on 12/27, the Nets moved to six games above .500 on the road for the first time in franchise history. The Nets reached five games over .500 on the road for the first time in franchise history with the 108-107 victory at Indiana on 12/23. Before this season, the Nets have reached four games over .500 on the road five times and during the current campaign New Jersey has been four games above .500 on the road three times.
The Nets currently have the fourth highest road scoring average in the NBA at 102.1.
Brook Lopez is currently averaging 2.00 blocks per game (fourth in NBA, first among rookies), which puts him on pace to swat 164 shots this season. He currently has 76 blocks and if he continues swatting shots at this rate, he will shatter the current Nets rookie record of 113 blocks set by Kenyon Martin in the 2000-01 season. Nets sophomore forward Sean Williams fell just short of the record last year in his rookie season with 106 blocks (1.45 per game). If Brook does reach 160, it would also give him the 6th all-time highest block total for a Nets player, tied with Shawn Bradley from the 1996-97 season. George Johnson owns the Nets record for most blocks in a season with 274 during the 1977-78 campaign.
Brook Lopez is ranked fourth in the NBA in blocks per game at 2.00 and first among rookies… He is also ranked in the top ten in four other rookie categories, 2nd in rebounding at 8.2, 9th in scoring at 10.7, 8th in field goal percentage at .476 (171-359), 9th in free throw percentage at .805 (66-82) and 7th in minutes at 29.1.
Lopez leads Nets to 103-99 OT win over Thunder
The AP reports: Rookie Brook Lopez scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Nets to a 103-99 overtime win on Monday. The Nets believed they had already won this one in regulation. Vince Carter caught a pass from Devin Harris and had the winning basket lined up with 9 seconds left, a shot that caught nothing but net from 3-point range. To the shock of everyone on the floor, the score was wiped out because Nets coach Lawrence Frank had run onto the court to call a time out… Carter finished with 21 points while Harris, back after missing three of the previous four games with a hamstring injury, had 17 points. Keyon Dooling had 14 points, most coming early in the fourth quarter as the Nets earned a fourth straight home win after starting the season 5-12 in New Jersey. Kevin Durant had 26 points for the Thunder, who fell to 6-33, and 2-17 on the road.
Yi Jianlian out 4-6 weeks
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: The Nets finally saw the Yi Jianlian they wanted, the 7-foot bundle of emerging talent they felt was worth dealing Richard Jefferson to obtain. The past few weeks, Yi was good. The past few games, Yi was very good. But now the development will be shelved for up to six weeks after Yi broke his right pinkie in Friday’s 104-102 defeat at Milwaukee. “Lousy timing,” team president Rod Thorn said. “He’d been playing well the last 2½, 3 weeks. Even in games he didn’t score a lot in, he’s been playing well. So it’s a tough time for him to get hurt.” Yi, who said he heard a “little pop” as he swiped at the ball in the third quarter, had 16 points in 25 minutes against Milwaukee, well on his way to a third straight 20-point game. In his last three games, he shot .538 (21-of-39), averaged 19.3 points – plus 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Ridnour’s floater lifts Milwaukee over Nets
The AP reports: Luke Ridnour’s 5-foot floater with 0.5 seconds left lifted the Bucks to a 104-102 victory over the Nets on Friday night in the first meeting since Jefferson was dealt on draft day to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. Jefferson left Simmons alone to try to defend Vince Carter in the closing seconds and Simmons, who finished with 15 points by going 5-of-9 from 3-point range, hit his final one with 9 seconds left to tie it at 102… But Carter, who finished with 23 points, 14 assists and one rebound short of his fifth triple-double, hit a fadeaway jumper and set up a layup by Brook Lopez to make it 100-97… Jarvis Hayes scored 16 points for the Nets, while Milwaukee got 23 points from Charlie Villanueva, 11 from Ramon Sessions and 10 each from Ridnour, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Charlie Bell.
Nets easily top Memphis 100-89 for 3rd straight home win
The AP reports: It’s rarely this easy for the New Jersey Nets, especially in their own building. Vince Carter had 25 points and a season-high 12 assists, and the Nets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 100-89 on Wednesday night for their third straight home victory. Playing without leading scorer Devin Harris (sore right hamstring), the Nets enjoyed one of the most relaxing nights a team could have… Yi Jianlian added 20 points, and rookie Brook Lopez had 17 for the Nets, who are just 8-12 at the Meadowlands even after their longest home winning streak of the season. They are 10-6 on the road and returned to .500 overall at 18-18. Rookie O.J. Mayo scored 26 points, and Rudy Gay had 23 for the Grizzlies, who lost for the sixth time in seven games and fell to 0-9 this season when playing on the second night of back-to-back games.
New nickname for Nenad Krstic
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: Nenad Krstic is officially a member of the Thunder after having his work visa approved Monday. And with a new team comes a new nickname. Krstic, the 7-foot center who was signed Dec. 30, is no longer affectionately referred to as “Curly” as he was during his four seasons with the New Jersey Nets. Thunder players have taken to the nickname “Krispy.” While the nickname is more of a play off Krstic’s last name, it could carry a double meaning for how crisp Krstic has been in his first week of practice. “He’s looking good,” Desmond Mason said of Krstic, who could make his Thunder debut tonight against the New York Knicks.