Brooklyn Nets Blog – Page 71 – NBA Blog

Nets beat Wizards 115-113 in double overtime

Exactly three hours after the game started, Joe Johnson finally won an exhausting game for the Brooklyn Nets.

Johnson’s 18-footer with 0.7 seconds left in the second overtime lifted the Nets to a 115-113 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Bradley Beal’s two free throws tied the score at 113 with 9.1 seconds to play before Johnson, who had 18 points, hit the shot that improved Brooklyn to 4-1 under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo…

Brook Lopez had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, and Deron Williams added 24 points and 10 assists.

Beal had a career-high 24 points. Jordan Crawford scored 23 points and Nene, who fouled out in the first overtime, had 20 for Washington, which lost its fourth in a row and is now 4-27…

The game featured the return of Andray Blatche, who was let go by Washington last summer after seven stormy seasons. The Wizards used the amnesty provision on Blatche, who was banished from the team by Wittman last March for poor conditioning.

Blatche was booed by the crowd when he entered with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter. Moments later, with the crowd still booing, he hit his first shot and then drew laughs when he tripped as he ran down the court. He had 13 points and 12 rebounds…

Brooklyn was without G C.J. Watson (bruised right knee) and F Kris Humphries (sprained left ankle). F/G Jerry Stackhouse returned after missing Wednesday’s game at Oklahoma City with a sore right hamstring.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nets beat Thunder 110-93, Kevin Durant ejected

P.J. Carlesimo’s first big motivational message as the interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets earned him an elusive win in Oklahoma City, and perhaps the kind of jolt his team needs to get out of a monthlong funk.

Joe Johnson scored a season-high 33 points, Deron Williams added 19 points and 13 assists, and the Nets snapped Oklahoma City’s 12-game home winning streak by beating the Thunder 110-93 Wednesday night in a game featuring the first ejection of Kevin Durant’s career.

Johnson said Carlesimo ”jumped on us” after a 31-point thumping at San Antonio two nights earlier, stressing the importance of ball movement on offense and helping each other out on defense…

The Nets built a 23-point lead late in the second quarter, then allowed Oklahoma City to tie it at 85 before ripping off a 23-8 run to seize control right back. Durant was ejected near the end of the surge, arguing with Danny Crawford after the referee had already issued a technical foul against Kendrick Perkins.

”I just thought it was a bad call. You get frustrated throughout a game, you show emotion. That’s how you can tell you love it,” said Durant, who scored 27 points…

Brook Lopez added 25 points as Brooklyn ended a seven-game losing streak in the series and got Carlesimo a victory against the team that fired him back in 2008. He’d only had one win in Oklahoma City during his abbreviated tenure in charge of the Thunder, getting fired after a 1-12 start after the team’s summer relocation from Seattle…

Russell Westbrook had 26 points and 10 assists for Oklahoma City, which lost for only the third time at home this season.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Deron Williams knows he is not playing up to expectations

The matchup between the Nets’ Deron Williams and Thunder star Russell Westbrook tonight should be a battle between two of the elite point guards in the NBA.

But given the way Williams has performed this season, it’s hard to argue more than one elite point guard will take the floor tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

“I don’t think I’m playing like [an elite point guard],” Williams said before practice yesterday. “I think I can be. But I’ve just got to figure this thing out.”

The Nets have been a hard team to figure out all season, and that starts with the play of their star point guard. The Nets re-signed Williams to a five-year deal worth just under $100 million this summer thinking he was one of the best players in the NBA — and arguably the league’s best point guard.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Spurs beat Nets, who scored just 5 third quarter points

The Brooklyn Nets ended 2012 a few hours earlier than most.

Tony Parker had 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs held the Nets to only five points in the third quarter en route to a 104-73 win Monday night.

MarShon Brooks had a season-high 16 points to lead Brooklyn (16-15), which suffered its first loss under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Joe Johnson added 12 points and Brook Lopez had 11, but Deron Williams was held to eight points and one assist.

San Antonio set a franchise low for fewest points by an opponent in the third quarter when it held the Nets to 10-percent shooting (2 for 20).

”I’m actually surprised it wasn’t worse,” Carlesimo said.

Tim Duncan added 15 points and Nando DeColo had 11, while Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner chipped in 10 apiece for San Antonio (25-8), which won its sixth straight…

Spurs G Gary Neal (strained right calf) missed his fourth straight game and sixth this season. . Brooklyn F Gerald Wallace (bruised left knee) missed his eighth game of the season. . Johnson, Andray Blatche and C.J. Watson are the only Nets to play in every game this season. Johnson has started each of those games. . The fewest points an opponent has scored in any quarter is three by Denver during the opening period on Nov. 27, 2002.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

Brooklyn Nets waive Josh Childress

The Brooklyn Nets have requested waivers on forward Josh Childress, it was announced tonight by General Manager Billy King.

Childress, who signed as a free agent with Brooklyn on September 13, 2012, appeared in 14 games for the Nets, averaging 1.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game.

According to Howard Beck of the New York Times via Twitter, “Childress was waived at his own request. He didn’t see a role here and asked Billy King for his release before the game tonight. Childress had played just 9 minutes this month. He’s hoping to catch on somewhere else.”

Brook Lopez scores 35 in Nets win over Cavs

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets improved to 2-0 under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-100 on Saturday night.

Lopez followed his 26-point, 11-rebound performance in a victory Friday over Charlotte by shooting 13 of 20 from the field, making a number of timely baskets in the fourth quarter that the Nets ultimately needed to hold on.

Deron Williams and Joe Johnson each scored 15 points for the Nets, who fired coach Avery Johnson on Thursday and followed with two victories over losing teams. But now, they head off for major tests at San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

CJ Miles scored 33 points and made eight 3-pointers for the Cavs, but Kyrie Irving capped a miserable shooting night when his tying 3-point attempt went in and out. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

Tristan Thompson added 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who played without center Anderson Varejao because of a knee injury. He had a career-high 35 points and 18 rebounds in the previous meeting in Brooklyn and perhaps could have slowed Lopez, who fouled out rookie Tyler Zeller.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Nets may want Phil Jackson as next head coach

Undaunted by Phil Jackson’s reported reluctance to coach their team, Brooklyn Nets officials have established Jackson as their top target in the wake of Avery Johnson’s dismissal, according to NBA coaching sources.

Sources told ESPN.com on Thursday the Nets have Jackson atop their list of potential replacements for Johnson and will make a hard push for the 67-year-old, who appeared close to returning for a third stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in November before L.A. unexpectedly gave the job to Mike D’Antoni.

Jackson’s longtime representative, Todd Musburger, told TNT’s David Aldridge on Thursday that his client has “no interest in the Nets’ job at this time.” But a source told ESPN that Jackson would indeed entertain an approach from Brooklyn and that his flirtation with the Lakers after Mike Brown’s dismissal five games into the season got him “thinking about coaching again.”

— Reported by Marc Stein and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com

Deron Williams surprised by Avery Johnson firing

Deron Williams’ reaction to Avery Johnson being fired

Deron Williams was in the practice facility when he heard that his coach was about to get canned, and one of his immediate thoughts flashed back to Utah: “Here we go again.”

Just like in Utah two years ago, where coach Jerry Sloan retired following a reported rift with his point guard, Williams was blamed for the departure of Avery Johnson, who was abruptly fired Thursday morning by Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

“I was surprised,” Williams said in a telephone interview with Daily News. “I never had any conversation with (GM) Billy King about not liking coach, nothing about coach Johnson. Avery was a big reason I came back, because him and Billy. So I was surprised.

“We’ve never had an argument, we’ve never had a fight, any disagreements, anything. So, I think it was more kind of what happened in Utah, people still saying I got coach Sloan fired even though he resigned and that’s going to stick with me for a while.”

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets name P.J. Carlesimo interim head coach

The Brooklyn Nets, who today fired head coach Avery Johnson, have appointed Assistant Coach P.J. Carlesimo as the team’s interim head coach, it was announced by General Manager Billy King.

A search for a new head coach will commence immediately.

Carlesimo has previous NBA head coaching experience in Portland, Golden State and Seattle/OKC. He owns a career coaching record of 204-296 in the regular season and 3-9 in the playoffs.

Brooklyn Nets fire head coach Avery Johnson

The Brooklyn Nets have relieved Avery Johnson of his head coaching duties, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.

“The Nets ownership would like to express thanks to Avery for his efforts and to wish him every success in the future,” said Brooklyn Nets principal owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

Johnson was named head coach of the Nets on June 15, 2010. In two-plus seasons as head coach of the Nets, Johnson compiled a record of 60-116.

The Nets are expected to name current assistant P.J. Carlesimo as the interim head coach.

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