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Nets center Brook Lopez missed a sixth straight game because of a sprained right foot, sitting out Tuesday night against the New York Knicks.
The Nets hoped Lopez would be able to return, listing him Monday as a game-time decision, but coach Avery Johnson said everyone involved decided earlier Tuesday that Lopez was not ready.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Brandon Jennings had heard all the talk about how Brooklyn’s backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson was considered one of the best in the league.
Jennings and his backcourt mate Monta Ellis were aware of the height advantage Williams and Johnson had on them, but the Milwaukee Bucks’ duo showed they belong in the conversation, too.
Jennings scored 26 points and Ellis added 24 as Milwaukee withstood Brooklyn’s fourth-quarter rally and beat the Nets 97-88 Sunday night.
”It wasnt a competition or anything like that,” said Jennings, who also had seven assists and six rebounds. ”We knew they had height advantage … so we wanted to run tonight and use more of your speed.” …
Marquis Daniels had 13 points for the Bucks and Ersan Ilyasova added 10 as Milwaukee won its second straight. The Bucks have beaten the Nets 12 straight times dating back to March 30, 2009…
Williams had 18 points and eight assists and Wallace added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the struggling Nets, losers of four straight.
— Reported by Adriano Torres of the Associated Press
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Mark Jackson looked around Barclays Center and saw friends, family and familiar faces from a lifetime of New York basketball.
What he saw on the court was pretty special, too.
David Lee had 30 points and 15 rebounds, Stephen Curry scored 28 points, and the Golden State Warriors gave their coach a winning return to Brooklyn by beating the Nets 109-102 on Friday night.
”Good to be home,” Jackson said, ”and it’s even better to leave out of here with a victory.”
Lee scored six straight points to break open a tie game midway through the fourth quarter, and Curry had 21 in the second half for the Warriors, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Golden State improved to 2-0 on its season-high, seven-game road trip against Eastern Conference opponents, a game played not far from where Jackson became a New York City star…
Joe Johnson scored a season-high 32 points for the Nets, who dropped their season-high third straight. Deron Williams added 23 points and eight assists…
Brooklyn played without starting center Brook Lopez for a fourth straight game because of a sprained right foot. Andray Blatche had 22 points and 15 rebounds in his place…
Jackson was born in Brooklyn, played high school ball at nearby Bishop Loughlin, starred at St. John’s and began his NBA career with the Knicks, winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1988. The trip back to Brooklyn hit home, he said, when the team bus passed a McDonald’s where he used to eat after high school home games.
— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press
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The Nets are not only the only team to have two players cited for flopping so far this season, but they are the only one to have anyone fined for it.
Although Gerald Wallace and Reggie Evans – two of Nets coach Avery Johnson’s best defenders – have already been first warned and then fined $5,000 under the league’s new anti-flopping rules, Johnson isn’t concerned it will impact the way either of them play.
“Not at all,” Johnson said when asked if the fines would change the mentality of either player. “I think there was another warning given, and you’re gonna see more warnings with other teams.
“We’re not getting picked on. We’re a good defensive team. Unfortunately, two of our guys have gotten fined, but both of our guys have guys that have gotten fined, Reggie and Gerald, it’s not gonna affect their play.”
— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post
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Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for flopping, joining teammate Reggie Evans as the only repeat offenders under the league’s new penalty system.
The league also gave Clippers veteran Chauncey Billups a warning Wednesday for falling backward after launching a jumper against Utah with little or no contact.
Wallace was defending a driving LeBron James on Saturday in Miami when he went tumbling backward after James put his right hand on Wallace’s body while dribbling with his left.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder looked spectacular most of the night even when the ball didn’t go in.
The blowout didn’t last, but their winning streak did.
Durant had 32 points and just missed what could have been the dunk of his career, Russell Westbrook added 25 points and nine assists, and the Thunder held off the Brooklyn Nets 117-111 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.
Serge Ibaka scored 18 points and Thabo Sefolosha 14 for the Thunder, who revved up the NBA’s No. 1 offense to surpass 100 points in a 10th straight game for the first time in 15 years. They beat the Nets for the seventh consecutive time, but had to work much harder for this win than they have lately…
Deron Williams scored a season-high 33 points for the Nets, who had their six-game home winning streak snapped. They played without starting center Brook Lopez (sprained right foot) and reserve forward Reggie Evans (flu), leaving them without their leading scorer and top rebounder…
Andray Blatche had 19 points and 11 rebounds in Lopez’s place, Joe Johnson scored 17 points, and Kris Humphries had 12 points and 12 boards for the Nets.
— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press
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Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 34 points, LeBron James added 21 points and the Miami Heat rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 on Saturday night.
Ray Allen scored 13 and Norris Cole finished with 12 for the Heat, who won their sixth straight and remained atop the Eastern Conference. Miami held the Nets to 30 points in the second half.
Andray Blatche scored 20 points for Brooklyn, which had won five in a row. Gerald Wallace had 13 points, Joe Johnson added 12 and Deron Williams finished with 10 points and 12 assists.
The Nets were 10 for 31 from the field in the second half and lost to Miami for the 12th straight time.
Wade added seven assists and shot 14 for 20 for Miami. He reached the 30-point mark for the first time this season when he took an alley-oop pass from Allen and slammed the ball for a 90-81 edge with 5:14 left…
Brooklyn had just one field goal in the first 9:06 of the final quarter, missing 10 of 11 shots in that stretch as Miami – despite shooting 5 for 16 over the same stretch – pulled away.
— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press
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Doc Rivers wants the Boston Celtics to be tough – not violent.
The message came too late for Rajon Rondo.
The Celtics point guard was ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Nets when he retaliated for a hard foul against Kevin Garnett by shoving Brooklyn forward Kris Humphries into the courtside seats. Rondo, Humphries and Nets forward Gerald Wallace were ejected, and Brooklyn held on to win 95-83…
Joe Johnson scored 18 points and Andray Blatche had 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Nets opened up a 21-point, first-half lead and took advantage of the loss of the Celtics’ All-Star to win for the ninth time in 11 games.
Garnett had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Pierce added 14 points for Boston. Rondo had three assists before he was kicked out, ending his streak at 37 games with double-digits – tied for second-longest in NBA history.
The Nets led by eight after one quarter and scored 19 of the first 25 points in the second to make it 47-26. Boston cut the deficit to 14 points and trailed by 16 when Garnett took an off-balance jumper from the right baseline and Humphries leveraged him to the floor with his left arm.
Rondo trailed the play with a two-handed shove that sent Humphries into the courtside seats.
— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press
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Reggie Evans keeps it simple, with a slogan that Nike once might’ve kicked around: Just get it.
Evans doesn’t view his job as a science, or a reward for practice and technique. After grabbing 14 boards Monday against the Knicks, he couldn’t really explain why he’s rebounding at a better rate than anybody in the NBA.
Evans just plays by a creed, which signals in his head as the ball bounces off the rim.
“Go get it,” he said. “No excuses. Just get it.”
Evans, 32, is averaging a league-high 22.1 rebounds per 48 minutes — a number that keeps rising as the Nets (9-4) keep winning. In the last three games — all home victories — Avery Johnson has trusted Evans in fourth-quarter crunch time over starter Kris Humphries.
— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News
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The Nets won the crowd – and the game.
Things sure looked and sounded different for them in their first matchup against the New York Knicks in Brooklyn.
The Nets pulled out a 96-89 overtime victory on Monday night, tying the Knicks for first place on a breakthrough night for their franchise.
With their fans outnumbering and at times outchanting the Knicks’ counterparts for a change, the Nets improved to 7-1 in their new home, sending this new-look rivalry off to a stirring start before a sellout crowd of 17,732…
Jerry Stackhouse, wearing the No. 42 Jackie Robinson made famous in Brooklyn, hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:31 left in overtime as the Nets controlled the extra period of a playoff-like game that neither team led by more than seven.
Brook Lopez had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 16 points and 14 assists as the Nets tied the Knicks atop the Atlantic Division at 9-4.
Carmelo Anthony had 35 points and 13 rebounds, but was only 10 of 16 at the free throw line. Tyson Chandler finished with 28 points and 10 boards, but no other Knicks player was in double figures.
Raymond Felton was just 3 of 19 from the field, but the Knicks had to stick with him with fellow point guard and former Nets star Jason Kidd out with back spasms.
— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press