In his first publicly announced act involving a player, on behalf of the Brooklyn Nets, General Manager Sean Marks requested waivers on Andrea Bargnani.

Bargnani, who signed with the Nets on July 17, 2015, appeared in 46 games for Brooklyn, with averages of 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.

The Nets roster now stands at 14 players.

Kemba Walker key in spoiling Nets post All-Star Break win streak

The Charlotte Hornets traveled to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Sunday evening. It would be a homecoming for Hornets point guard Kemba Walker who was born and raised in the Bronx. Coming to play the Nets has not been a pleasant homecoming for Walker as he has yet to record a win on the road against the Nets in his career thus far. Brooklyn entered the game determined to keep that tradition alive while the Hornets were looking to extend their winning streak to five games in a row.

Both teams had shakeups to their respective rosters with the Hornets acquiring former Nets guard Courtney Lee from Memphis and the Nets playing their first game since Andrea Bargnani was waived. Brooklyn needed to be able to contain the driving ability of Walker and his backup former NY Knick Jeremy Lin.

The Hornets would double team at times around the basket leaving Nets shooters open on the perimeter. When the perimeter shots didn’t fall, the Nets were able to penetrate the defense and gained an advantage in points in the paint 16-10 in the first quarter. Due to poor shooting by the Nets, the Hornets were able to extend their lead to 15 points, but the determined Nets closed the gap to 8 at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Nets struggle to contain the Hornets offense and trailed by 17 points. However, Brooklyn was not ready to be counted out. Showing their scrappy side, the Nets went on a run that brought them within four with just under five minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Nets would get as turnovers at crucial moments proved detrimental. Kemba Walker made key plays to propel the Hornets past the Nets 104-96.

VIDEO: Manny Pacquiao loses Nike endorsement and fans; Will Peyton Manning be able to weather his alleged college sexual harassment episode?; Will Sean Marks, the new Brooklyn Nets general manager lure Tom Thibodeau?; Ronda Rousey faces her demons; and more

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, the panel of Keisha Wilson, Bianca Peart and Mike McDonald, are talking about:

• Ronda Rousey's comment about having suicidal thoughts
• Sean Marks, former Assistant Coach, San Antonio Spurs, becomes new General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets

Sean Marks, Brooklyn Nets General Manager

• Peyton Manning's checkered past: what’s in the future for Manning given the sexual harassment allegations against him stemming from University of Tennessee
• Jenrry Mejia gets lifetime ban from Major League Baseball
• Brooklyn Nets new training facility

Brooklyn Nets new Training Facility. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone Van-Dyke

• Outlook for Brooklyn Nets west coast swing not looking good, but the team’s two standouts continue to be Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young
• New York Knicks interim head coach Kurt Rambis’ Twitter account gets hacked
• Professional boxer and Floyd Mayweather nemesis, Manny Pacquiao, gets dropped by Nike after his disdainful homophobic comments

Edited by: Ruth J. Morrison

Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson forces that kept the Nets in Abeyance

It’s Monday night, the first day of February and the Brooklyn Nets have just lost three consecutive games, including one home game. However, still fresh in the home crowd’s memory at the Barclays Center, is the Nets stunning upset win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the best teams in the NBA.

The crowd at the Barclays Center was hopeful to the end, because overall, the Nets were playing fairly well. However, not well enough to overcome the forces of Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and the rest of the Detroit Pistons. It was close, but the Pistons still beat the Brooklyn Nets 105-100.

Brook Lopez, aka The Big Guy”, worked his game, scoring 27 points for the Nets in addition to his five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Andrea Bargnani put up 18 points and four rebounds off the bench, while starting guard Wayne Ellington contributed 11 points.

The Nets led 57-54 at the half and was just three points (78-75) behind the Pistons at the end of the third quarter.

“We moved the ball, played at a high pace, got up and down, got a lot of shots for AB (Andrea Bargnani) in the mid-range, Markel (Brown) and Bogie (Bojan Bogdanovic) on the three,” said Nets backup point guard Shane Larkin on what the team did to get back into the game in the third and fourth quarter.

But the guys in Black and White couldn’t grab the momentum in the fourth stanza. Could it be that Nets interim head coach Tony Brown changed the game’s momentum when he pulled Larkin out of the game at 6:40 in the fourth with the Nets down by one (90-89)and put in Donald Sloan?

Larkin was making his presence felt; dishing out a career-high 14 assists (previous high: eight assists done five times). He also chipped in eight points and a team-high six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

Larkin is in good company. The last five NBA players prior to Larkin to dish out 14-plus assists in a game in 23 or fewer minutes were: Russell Westbrook (3/4/14 vs. Philadelphia); Manu Ginobili (3/1/13 vs. Sacramento); Rod Strickland (4/23/95 for Portland vs. Golden State); Larry Drew (1/6/91 Los Angeles Lakers v. Golden State); and Muggsy Bogues (4/12/89 for Charlotte at New York). The dates indicate that 14-plus assists in 23 or fewer minutes by a player coming off the bench is no easy feat.

Drummond led the Pistons with 21 points and 18 rebounds and dropped the tie-breaking basket on a dunk with 1:30 remaining.

"I didn't do a great job with Drummond. He got some easy ones," Lopez said. "I tried to wrap him up at the end of the game, making him earn it at the line. But it was something that was a focus tonight."

Jackson, who almost got pulled from the game because of leg cramps by Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy, scored 19 points. As a matter of fact, all Pistons starters scored in double digits: Ersan Ilyasova (16); Kentavious Caldwell (16) and Marcus Morris (12).

Although the Pistons won, Coach Van Gundy was not happy with his team’s performance. Van Gundy can be heard in his own words here.

For the Nets, their effort couldn’t have been more inspiring

The last time Dwyane Wade visited the Brooklyn Nets, he broke their hearts-hitting clutch shots late, and the Miami Heat escaped with a 104-98 win. On Tuesday night, post-winter storm Jonas, Wade did it again. The old pro, like he’s displayed his entire career, he hit big shots late, leading the Heat to a narrow 102-98 victory over the Nets.

With 1:35 left in the 4th quarter, Wade lost Thaddeus Young on a screen set by Chris Bosh, as he made his way to the basket, uncovered. Luol Deng found him, Wade went up for the layup and finished, despite being fouled by Wayne Ellington, increasing what was a one-point 94-93 lead to 97-93 adding the free-throw. Moments later, the Nets would turn the ball over, one of their 16 TOs for the night and Wade made them pay.

He evaded Ellington, dribbled to the right side of the three-point arc, met Brook Lopez on the switch and drained a step-back mid-range jumper, giving the Heat a 99-93 advantage with 1:04 left in the 4th. Ten seconds later, Donald Sloan (10 points) would hit a three to make things interesting, pulling the Nets to within three, 99-96 but to no avail. Wade and Bosh scored 27 apiece, team highs, and rookie Justise Winslow impressed with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“Typical CB, typical D-Wade,” said Lopez who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.“You know, they do just a great job of moving the ball constantly on offense. You can tell they’re composed, regardless of the score.”

For the Nets, their effort couldn’t be more inspiring. The Nets won the 1st half, shooting 55 percent from the field and from three, heading into halftime with a 57-51 lead. In the third, the Heat responded and the Nets started to see their lead and momentum transfer to the opposing bench.

“I thought offensively we struggled in the second half,” Nets head coach Tony Brown said post-game. “I think our pace slowed down, and the ball didn’t move as freely as it did in the first half.”

The turnovers didn’t help either.

At the half, the Nets had three TOs. They finished with 16, including four in the first five minutes of the 3rd quarter, coupled with bad shooting, which helped the Heat start the 2nd half on a 10-1 run. After Bosh’s three with a little over eight minutes left in the 3rd gave the Heat their first lead of the game, 60-58 since 6-4 early in the 1st quarter, the Heat never looked back.

They took control of the 2nd half and the Bosh and Wade duo made sure the Nets wouldn’t have another upset win like they did against OKC. Like the Nets, Miami has been struggling as of late, and before wins against the Chicago Bulls, their previous game, and the Nets tonight, Wade and co. endured a four-game losing streak.

“It’s just important to come out here and get a win,” Wade said in the visitors locker-room following the win. “It wasn’t about backing up what happened in Chicago. We’re a team that lost four in a row.” He continued: “We had to go all the way into the bottom of the bag tonight to be able to pull this out, but we were able to.”

Thaddeus Young scored 12 points, Joe Johnson added 15 and Andrea Bargnani came off the bench to score a team-high 20.

The Nets did beat OKC not too long ago and although they competed against the Heat, Brown expressed that there are no moral victories and at the end of the day the Nets want to win games.

Their next shot comes this Friday @ the Dallas Mavericks.

"Maybe it’s a coincidence, but that’s the way we need to play every night. I guess we need to play every night like we’re playing OKC.” --- Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez

Winter superstorm Jonas arrived in NYC this weekend and blessed us with up to 18 inches of snow. Due to the storms results, the Brooklyn Nets pushed its late afternoon game against the Oklahoma City Thunder to the evening. Perhaps, just maybe, it had something to do with why the Nets decided to show up.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 31 points and 10 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season, to upset the Thunder and their star-studded cast, 116-106.

“He was making shots,” Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant simply stated regarding Brook’s big night.

With the win, the Nets ended their five-game losing streak while stopping the Thunder’s seven-game winning streak.

Before this game, which was delayed by four hours, it was viewed as a sure loss by just about everybody and on Sunday night, the Nets defied the odds. They never trailed and other than the 3rd quarter where the Nets mirrored the Thunder in points scored with 25, Brooklyn outscored OKC in every other quarter. Whenever OKC got close, the Nets found a way to answer and score consistently, which is something the Nets have struggled with all season long.

Brooklyn Nets Scores when it counts

When OKC’s Kyle Singler drained a three, set up by Kevin Durant in the 2nd quarter with a little over five minutes left, bringing OKC to within one down 45-46, Bojan Bogdanovic and Andrea Bargnani answered with a three and jumper respectively, putting the Nets back up by six, 51-45. In the 4th with a little over six minutes remaining, Dion Waiters brought OKC to within five 93-98 after his two-point shot.

Shortly after, the Nets would spend the next three minutes sealing their 12th win of the season. Thaddeus Young scored twice en route to another solid performance, scoring 14 points with 14 boards and Lopez added two.

“We went out and executed, we ran our stuff all the way through,” Young said post-game.

Yes, the Nets finally won a game but the biggest winner of all was the fans.

Brooklyn’s faithful braved the aftermath of Jonas, got to witness a victory and also got to witness two of the league's greatest players in Durant and Russell Westbrook. KD and Westbrook both produced double-doubles of their own in 32 and 10 rebounds and 27 and 11 rebounds, respectively and after the game Durant praised Lopez and Young for their efforts.

“They were tough,” Durant said. “They kicked our ass all night, you know, rebounding the ball, scoring in the paint. They did what they wanted to.”

And that’s coming from a credible opponent, actually referencing the Nets. And Durant is talking about the Nets edging OKC on the boards 49 to 46, including 18 offensive rebounds, which led to extra possessions for Brooklyn. Steven Adams, OKC’s muscle in the post and starting center was missing in action which has a lot to do with the success Lopez, Young and the Nets enjoyed on the glass and scoring inside and to their credit, they took advantage.

It’s also worth noting that after the beat-down the Utah Jazz laid on the Nets on Friday night, the Nets were able to bounce back and that started with the team’s best player. Against the Jazz, Lopez was limited to eight points having to deal with Rudy Gobert’s block party all night long. Against OKC, guarded mostly by Enes Kanter, Lopez got his mojo back, which seems to happen more often than not when playing the Thunder. Brook is averaging 28.5 ppg vs. OKC this year.

“I don’t know,” Lopez said regarding his play against OKC this season. “Maybe it’s a coincidence, but that’s the way we need to play every night. I guess we need to play every night like we’re playing OKC.”

So basically, the Nets have to figure out how they can alter what’s left of their regular season schedule to take on the Thunder until season’s end. Or maybe the Nets finally got the message of what head coach Tony Brown has been emphasizing in sharing the ball recording 24 assists on OKC.

“I thought our guys heed the message, shared the ball, moving, moving bodies, and the floor opened up for us,” Brown expressed post-game. “The options will present themselves, if we don’t force it.”

Until Tuesday’s game hosting the Miami Heat, the Nets will have the chance to do something they haven’t done in a while: smile.

Joe Johnson’s seemingly lack of effort is glaring. The second highest NBA player ends with six points and six rebounds and assists

The 10-16 Minnesota Timberwolves came into the Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon (a rare 1:00 p.m. game) needing a road win after losing eight of their last 10 games; and the 7-19 Brooklyn Nets laid out the welcome mat and said, no problem.

The Nets allowed the athletic ‘Wolves to get off to a great start, as they dominated the first quarter. Although Brooklyn tied Minnesota five times during the first stanza, the Timberwolves overpowered the Nets with 47.6 percent field goal shooting compared to the Nets lethargic 28.6 percent, ending the quarter 26-16. For the Nets, Brook Lopez led the charge. Even though Lopez seemingly attracted Timberwolves players every time he touched the ball, the Nets center managed to score half of the Nets first quarter points with eight.

The Nets battled back in the 2nd quarter, outscoring the ‘Wolves 27-26, but it wasn’t enough; Minnesota ended the half with an overall score 52-43. And, where was Joe Johnson? We’re all still waiting for Johnson to show up. The Nets shooting guard ended the half with zero points on 0 of 2 shooting. But, to his credit (tongue in cheek), Johnson did have two assists and one offensive rebound. And, when it was all said and done, Johnson’s tally was triple sixes: six points, six rebounds, and six assists. Not a good showing for the second highest paid NBA player.

Johnson wasn’t the on Nets starter having a bad day. During the third quarter, the fans were so upset with the Nets performance that when Kevin Garnett, former Nets player and now back with the Timberwolves, stole the ball from Jarrett Jack, they started to “boo,” but Ally Love and the Nets entertainment team promptly interrupted and overpowered the disenchanted fans with sheer volume and a T-shirt toss.

“We didn’t play hard, Jack said after the game. “We didn’t show any resistance. The score is very indicative of that.”

At game’s end, Brooklyn Nets superman, Brook Lopez, had 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and one steal.

“Yeah, we haven’t had a complete game in a while and you can see that,” Lopez said responding to whether the Nets energy and effort is worrisome at this point. “We absolutely have to. It takes every person who steps onto the court to set the attitude and we certainly need the bench to come in and you know, do the same or even pick it up.”

Other Nets starters in double digits were Bojan Bogdanovic with 13 points and Thaddeus Young with 12 points. Nets reserve players scoring in double digits were Andrea Bargnani with 11 and Wayne Ellington with 10.

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Gorgui Dieng put up 20 points and 10 boards off the bench. In fact, Minnesota’s bench consisting of Kevin Martin (16), Zach Levine (10), and Andre Miller (2) contributed nearly 50 percent of the team’s total score with 48 points. Andrew Wiggins, a starting guard for Minnesota, chipped in 16 points.

With the loss against Minnesota, Brooklyn dropped its fifth straight.

Next stop for the Nets; Chicago on Monday night.

Heat Takes Control of the Second Half and Dwyane Wade Closes

Tonight’s game hosting the Miami Heat wasn’t Monday night’s blowout loss to the Orlando Magic. The Brooklyn Nets were in it to win it for the majority of Wednesday’s contest but towards the end of regulation, a particular star showed up and he wasn’t sporting a Brooklyn jersey. Dwyane Wade scored six of his team-high 28 points in the final six minutes of the 4th quarter propelling the Heat to a narrow 104-98 win against the struggling Nets.

The Heat improved to (15-9), their third straight win while the Nets continue to look for answers, falling to (7-18). Late in the 4th, the Nets had several opportunities to get in the win column and end their two-game losing streak, but Wade would have no part of it. He did what superstars do.

He closed.

When Thaddeus Young scored to get the Nets to within two points, down 87-89 with 5:58 left in the 4th, Wade drained a 12-foot jumper putting the Heat up by four, 91-87 at the 5:11 mark. Moments later, the Nets would turn the ball over and Wade took advantage, putting the Heat up by six, 93-87 just under five min left until the end of regulation. Wade would hit two more jumpers putting the Heat up by eight and 10 points respectively, and it just seemed like when he scored late, it hurt more than any of his fellow teammates prior.

“This is what he’s built his career on,” Heat head coach, Erick Spoelstra said post-game. “To be able to attack, to read defenses, to be able to make shots.”

Even Nets head coach, Lionel Hollins acknowledged that there was nothing they could do to cool him off.

“Well, you could decide to go double him and hopefully he passes it, but even when he did that, (Justise) Winslow hit a three, the other kid (Goran) Dragic hit a three earlier before he got to the end and that puts a little bit of caution in trying to go down there and just double-team him and taking the ball out,” Hollins said during his post-game press conference.

“He’s a great player,” Hollins added.

Chris Bosh, who scored seven, gets a front-row seat to the Wade show every night.

“He did pull a couple of things out of the bag and it was great,” Bosh said in the visitor’s locker-room.

Fortunately for the Nets, Brook Lopez validated why he’s great player also. After a disappointing outing against the Magic and Nikola Vucevic, Lopez scored 16 of his team-high 25 points in the first half, against Hassan Whiteside, who averages four blocks a game.

“It was huge for him confidence-wise to come out and play well,” Hollins said. “We need him to continue to play well offensively, but I thought he did some other stuff as well, but scoring wise he did real good.”

And Lopez’s start spearheaded the Nets 1st half surge. The Nets got off to a great start, finishing the 1st quarter with an eight-point lead, up 30-22. Every starter not named Joe Johnson contributed.

In the second, more of the same ensued. The Nets showed some fight. Even Wayne Ellington got into the act, scoring eight of his 12 in the second alone, including three straight baskets which kept the Nets ahead of the Heat. It didn’t take long until the Heat, who lead the Southeast division woke up. With 2:34 left until halftime, Goran Dragic and co. would score points leading a 9-4 run to put the Heat up by five, 55-50 going into the second half, which capped off a 33-point 2nd to regain control of the game.

And that run to end the 1st half, would carry the Heat into the second half, as they coasted, for the most part, exploiting the Nets with good ball movement. When it counted the most, Heat players turned to Wade and he delivered, which was nothing new. Other than Lopez, Jarrett Jack added a double-double (22 points and 10 assists) and Andrea Bargnani had some moments, chipping in with 10. You know what could’ve helped? Johnson producing more than five points in 33 min of play. You know what also could’ve helped? The Nets fouling after Wade put the Heat up by five, 103-98 with 43.5 secs left in the 4th.

“I told them that we needed to foul, I mean, come on,” Hollins said. “You got to foul. I got caught looking at something else, and when I looked over everybody is looking at me, but that kind of stuff happens.”

For the Nets sake, it doesn’t need to happen.

The Nets will get a day off today and on Friday will face another star. The Nets will visit Paul George and the 3rd seeded Indiana Pacers which presents another challenge. Every night seems like an uphill climb for the Nets. It is up to them whether or not that will continue and looking at their upcoming schedule beyond the Pacers, (Timberwolves on Sunday, Bulls on Monday, Mavericks on Wednesday), it just might.

Andrea Bargnani led all scorers with a season-high 23 points

In a must win game, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 100-91 on Thursday night. Although the Nets were a little shaky in the 3rd Quarter, with the 76ers record of 1-21, it would not have been a good look had the Nets lost.

The Nets set the tone early by allowing only 13 points in the first quarter, the fewest they’ve given up in any period this season.

Brooklyn Nets F/C Andrea Bargnani led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, while forward Thaddeus Young added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

''It was a good win because in our situation we take every win,'' Bargnani said. ''At the end we got the 'W' and that's all that matters at the end of the day.''

Also in double digits for the Nets were Shane Larkin with 14 points, six assists, and four rebounds; and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 10 points, three assists and rebounds respectively for the Nets.

''(I'm) just playing with confidence,'' Larkin said. ''My coaches and teammates instill all the confidence in me and tell me to take the shots and make the plays for us. They've put me in a position to be successful and I couldn't be happier that everybody believes in me the way they do and I just want go out there and do well for them so they keep believing in me.''

Jahlil Okafor, who was making his second appearance since his two-game suspension for off-the-court antics, had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and T.J. McConnell scored 17 points for the 76ers. Richaun Holmes came off the bench and contributed 14 points for Philadelphia.

''Just trying to get my rhythm back,'' Okafor said. ''I'm trying to play more games and just getting (my) flow back. Tonight that was the case. I'm going to try to keep getting better and play every game.''

Nets win erases embarrassing loss to Celtics in Beantown on Friday

On Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets redeemed themselves with a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics for a split of a home-and-home series.

''I think we took what happened the other night personal,'' Nets guard Jarrett Jack said. ''Not necessarily per se toward that particular team, I think we took our performance personal.''

The Nets were coming off a 111-116 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets and an embarrassing 120-95 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Celtics in Boston.

Brook Lopez scored early and often ending with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Jack scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Joe Johnson added 17 points for the Nets.

''We got embarrassed in Boston, no doubt about that,'' Johnson said, ''and we wanted to come home and protect our house.''

Other double digit scorers for the Nets were reserve Andrea Bargnani with 12 points and Thaddeus Young with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

For the Celtics, guards Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 27 points. Bradley was 7-for-14 from 3-point range and had 4 rebounds (3 of the 4 were defensive rebounds), one assist and two steals.

It wasn’t a walk in the park for the Nets, as the Celtics outscored the Nets 36-27 in the third quarter. Although the Celtics battled to take over, they never led. A pivotal point in the game came when late in the fourth, with Boston trailing by eight and breathing down the necks of the Nets, Jae Crowder raised up for a 3-pointer in the corner, drained the shot, but came into contact with Nets forward Thaddeus Young. Unfortunately for the Celtics, the official called an offensive foul on Crowder for kicking his legs out at Young. From that point on, the pendulum was on the side of the Nets, allowing Brooklyn to pull away and hoist up a W.

''I kind of felt like last game was an aberration and they proved me right tonight,'' Nets coach Lionel Hollins said.

The Nets have now won two consecutive home games. Next up, the Nets are on the road to play Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday and LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

Good Luck!

The next Brooklyn Nets home game is Sunday, November 29.