Johnson hits 3-pointer at the buzzer; it stings the Nuggets and stuns the crowd

Instead of sending the Brooklyn faithful home with a comfortable win vs. the Denver Nuggets, Joe Johnson and co. elected to go the thrilling route. The savvy veteran coolly banked in a game-winning three with time expiring, on one leg, to defeat the Nuggets, 105-104. Prior to the shot, the Nets seemed to have shot themselves in the foot on their last possession.

With 45 seconds left in the 4th, Markel Brown turned the ball over looking for a cutting Johnson, who was moving towards the basket, on the baseline. The Nuggets intercepted and Kenneth Faried made the Nets pay by converting a tough layup defended by Shane Larkin, a mismatch, which gave the Nuggets a 104-102 lead, 1.3 secs left in the final quarter.

“I thought it was over,” Faried said regarding his go-ahead basket.

The Nets could've sulked, hung their heads and looked towards the next opponent but they didn't. They responded, and Johnson, like he's done for the majority of his career, hit another big shot.

“I didn’t think that thing had a chance when he (Joe Johnson) threw it up, but shooters are going to shoot and they’re going to make big shots,” said Faried who finished with a double-double, in 22 points and 13 rebounds. “I mean, he’s been an All-Star. He’s known for making big shots like that, and he did it tonight against us.”

The game had all the makings of what could've been a tough Nets home loss because they led and were in control in the first half. The Nets hit nine of their first 11 shots, up 19-11 with under six min left in the 1st quarter, led by Thaddeus Young who scored 10 points during the stretch.

They went up by as many as 16 in the second until Faried led a Denver comeback with eight points in the final four minutes of the second that closed the gap to six points, 49-55 at the break. In the second half of the game, the Nets and Nuggets traded baskets continuously and we all knew that at the pace both teams were competing at, an exciting finish was expected. Although the Nets won the game, execution down the stretch continued to hurt the Nets.

In the final seven minutes of the game, the Nets committed five costly turnovers which allowed the Nuggets to keep the game within distance and even take the lead to which Brown referenced turnovers.

“We tried to run a couple of plays and for whatever reason we still make poor decisions down the stretch, and we are still trying to work on that,” Brown said post-game.

Brooklyn’s interim head coach Tony Brown mentioned two plays down the stretch involving Brook Lopez (16 points) and Johnson (12 points) where the team tried to feed their best players the ball and on both occasions ended up in the visitor’s hands.

“So those situations hopefully we learn from because if we can get a shot, I like our chances in making them but we just can’t do it when we give away the ball like that, Coach Brown said.”

Off the bench, the Nets received healthy contributions from Markel Brown, the team’s 2nd leading scorer for this game, recording 19 points; and Bojan Bogdanovic who chipped in 12 points. The buzzer-beater won the headlines but so did Nets rookie forward Chris McCullough.

McCullough (2015 1st round draft pick), who hasn’t played since January of 2015 when he tore his ACL-16 games into his collegiate career-checked into the Nets win early in the second quarter and scored his first NBA basket on a mid-range jumper, according to ESPN.com.

“It just felt good to be out there, playing my game, doing what I do, block shots, rebound on the floor,” McCullough said who added two points, two rebounds one block and a steal. “Just to finally hear my name called, it felt great.”

Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver’s 2015 lottery pick was a little sloppy. He flashed brilliance dishing eight assists but struggled with his shot, and totaled just seven points and turned the ball over four times too many. Mudiay showed the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon exactly what they are missing at the point, with 15 points and nine assists but against the Nets, couldn’t mirror his performance offensively.

“He was only 3-10 from the field,” said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. “He had eight assists and four turnovers, so he did some good things.”

Gary Harris his backcourt mate, played well, totaling 17 points and former Knick, Danilo Gallinari led all Nuggets with 24 points. The Nets will have a day off to enjoy the win and then will get back to work hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Phil Jackson’s Basketball Legacy May Hinge on the 2015 NBA Draft

After failing its fans during this past NBA regular season, the New York Knicks saved its best disappointment for last. In yesterday’s 2015 NBA Draft Lottery, the Knicks, who owned the second-best percentage to obtain the no.1 overall pick with 19.9 percent, fell out of the top-three selections, settling for the fourth overall pick. Of course, it had to be them. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had a 25 percent chance of picking 1st overall, landed the top pick, the Los Angeles Lakers finished 2nd and the Philadelphia 76ers landed the 3rd.

The last team to finish with the highest percentage in picking no.1 was the Orlando Magic in 2004, and tonight, the Timberwolves overachieved.

“We were jumping up and down,” Wolves head coach and team president, Flip Saunders told the media following the lottery. “This gives us flexibility…every spot you move up, you have more control of what’s going to happen, you have more people talking to you, cause they’re trying to find out what you’re going to do and where you’re going.”

And it’s the flexibility that the Wolves are enjoying right now, a feeling the Knicks have coveted since the 2014-15 NBA regular season ended. With the 4th pick now a reality, the Knicks may have to change its focus. In early March, reports stated that the NBA fined Phil Jackson, the president of basketball operations for making a comment that could be construed that the Knicks were interested in Ohio State freshman, D’Angelo Russell. Basketball savants consider Russell to be a top-3 pick.

With the Sixers and Lakers both expressing interest in Russell, and the point guard position in general, according to multiple reports, the Knicks may need to look elsewhere and prepare for the reality that Russell might not be there when it is time for the Knicks to make their pick. They can also forget about Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, who shouldn’t slide past the 2nd pick. What seems more likely is Emmanuel Mudiay, the guard who decided to play in China, skipping that one-year college rule.

Mudiay was a highly regarded prospect, like Russell entering college and was slated to play for former NBA head coach, Larry Brown at SMU. But due to personal reasons regarding his family, Mudiay took the Brandon Jennings route and had to grow up quicker than the average 18-year old. In addition to Mudiay, Kentucky big, Willie Cauley Stein, a 7-footer who was honored as the NABC Defensive Player of the Year and Justise Winslow, fresh off of winning the NCAA National Title will be available, all targets of the Knicks as well.

Earlier this month, Winslow sat next to Carmelo Anthony at a New York Yankees game and who knows what was discussed between the current Knick and the soon to be NBA employee. The fact is, the Knicks still have options with the 4th pick. It can’t get any worse.

The 4th pick just hurts because of who the Knicks are and it seems like not winning the lottery and having to settle for the 4th overall pick, sums up the ineptitude the franchise has experienced for the last five years. According to, CBSsports.com, the Knicks are open to trading their 1st-round pick.

Although you can attract some suitors for this pick and maybe pick a player for a team with a substantial player coming in return, this is not encouraging news. The first overall pick could haul a franchise player while the 4th could also yield the type of player that could change the Knicks fortunes for brighter days. Keep the pick.

4th NBA Draft Pick Not So Bad, Knicks Need to Pick Right Guy

Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook were all former no.4 overall selections and have made significant contributions to the league that has made them household names. The Knicks can do the same here. They just have to pick the right guy. At the end of the day, the NBA Draft is a lottery in itself.