Brooklyn Nets snatch a win and force Game 6 vs. Chicago Bulls in NBA Playoffs

Deron Williams needed to have a perfect game last night against the Chicago Bulls to force a Game 6, and he nearly did that, as the Nets overcame the Bulls in a 110-91 home win Monday night at the Barclays Center.

Williams scored 23 points and 10 assists and Brook Lopez added 28 points for the Nets, who blew a 14-point lead in the three-overtime loss in Game 4 on Saturday in Chicago.

Reggie Evans grabbed 12 rebounds and Gerald Wallace scored 12 points which contributed to Brooklyn's miracle comeback on Monday. Andray Blatche was clutch in the fourth quarter scoring 10 of his 13 points in the last 12 minutes of the game that potentially would've been his team's last game of the season.

Nate Robinson started Monday night for Chicago in place of Kirk Hinrich who suffered from a bruised left calf. He added 20 points and eight assists for the Bulls.

Before the game, Bulls' head coach Tom Thibodeau said that he wasn't worried about Robinson's behavior in Game 4 that resulted in a scuffle between the 5-foot-9 point guard and Nets' guard C.J. Watson. Both guards, who have developed a hate relationship throughout their careers received technical fouls. After Saturday's game, the NBA reviewed the fouls and league revoked Watson's call.

"Nate Robinson is never going to change," Thibodeau said. "He makes things happen."

The talk of the night centered also around Jason Collins, the free agent now known for becoming the first active NBA player to come out as gay. Many of the NBA players sent messages to Collins after the story broke Monday, with most sending supportive tweets through social media.

"Jason Collins has announced that he is gay. I know Jason and his family well and I support him 100%," NBA Legend Magic Johnson tweeted. "Jason can feel good in knowing that the NBA will support him."

P.J. Carlesimo expressed his support for Collins and said the center is reflective of what the NBA stands for. The Nets coach also reminisced on how the NBA was 10 years ago and said that the league wasn't ready for Collins' sexuality back in 2003.

He also added that he wasn't worried about any same-sex issue in the Nets' locker room.

For now, the only thing Carlesimo is worried about is winning Game 6, as Brooklyn will travel to Chicago to revive their season.

The Nets take on the Bulls on May 2 and Nets fans will be watching!

No two teams in the Eastern Conference went through more of a positive roster change on paper than the Brooklyn Nets and the Detroit Pistons. As it is well documented across the basketball globe, the Nets added Jason Kidd as head coach, along with two soon-to-be Hall of Famers in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and five key bench players. The team also added 6th man of the year Jason Terry; Mister all world, Andrei Kirilenko aka AK-47; scoring and defending wing Alan Anderson; former McDonald’s- All American Shaun Livingston; and reserve rookie big man Mason Plumlee out of Duke University. These moves put the Nets atop the NBA elite if everyone can stay healthy and gel quickly since they have an older team.

As for the Pistons, they also added several key pieces that can put them atop the Eastern Conference, starting with the Coach Maurice Cheeks a great mentor to point guards and a former all-star point guard himself. Detroit made a big free agent splash with one of the most dynamic versatile players in the world, Josh Smith. The sign and trade for Brandon Jennings is pivotal in the new NBA where point guards rule the league. Similarly, drafting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the lottery fills a major hole in the Piston’s roster. Caldwell-Pope has all the tools of being a top shooting guard in the league. Additionally, an old face from its championship team, Mr. Chauncey “Big Shot” Billups adds playoff experience to a young roster.

For fans that came to the game looking for a point guard showdown, no such luck. Since it is pre-season, some of the key players on both teams were out. Absent were Deron Williams with an ailing right ankle, while Brandon Jennings was marked DNP due to dental issues. More to the point, there are a lot of unanswered questions coming into this season reflected in this game. How will Brook Lopez and Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce complement each other since they have similar games? Is the Nets’ bench deep enough to overcome its aging roster? Can a young athletic team like Detroit be the Nets Achilles heel?

Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson seem to fit better together more so than Kevin and Brook. I guess the chemistry playing with each other earlier in their careers in Boston helped. They were able to make seamless switches on defense and knew when to clear out on the offensive end making sure spacing was adequate. I don’t foresee any problems here.

The combination of Brook Lopez and Kevin Garnett is under construction, but there are positive signs. They both have a high b-ball IQ, so they were able to find each other a lot in the post and in the mid-range, giving each other easy buckets. During the first quarter, they played six minutes. Kevin was 3-3 and Brook was 2-3 from the field, super efficient. On the negative side, Brook and Kevin are both high post players, which can leave the big men too high up and away from boards. They combined for two rebounds in the first quarter. The Nets won’t be able to live up to its lofty preseason expectations with its center and power forward having two rebounds in a quarter and a total of four for the game. Also, the defensive transition was a problem for the two big men. They were late getting back a couple of times leading to easy baskets by Detroit.

That Achilles Heel was present a lot of times tonight. The Pistons looked way too young and athletic tonight for one of the oldest teams in the league. So many easy baskets were scored by Andre Drummond by simply out-running or out-jumping the Nets. This really led to the 99-88 loss to the Pistons. The Nets seem to want to play an up-tempo style. However, I would take notes from the Spurs know when to run because you may get run over.

As I watched the game, I was thinking this could be a tough year for the Nets. I was concerned because I wasn’t sure where the team was going to get its scoring from off the bench. Then I realized former 6th Man of the Year, Jason Terry, was not playing. So I felt less concerned. AK-47, a great pick up, helped on both ends of the floor, offense and defense. His basketball IQ is through the roof. He made some great passes and steals with his great basketball instinct and hustle. I can tell he will be a crowd favorite. I also saw Brooklynite Gary Forbes on the Nets roster. He was a star for Benjamin Banneker High school right downtown Brooklyn. He stepped right in, didn’t look nervous during his 17minutes and looked like he could be a spark plug off the Nets bench. However, Coach Kidd reminded us during the postgame press conference that the Nets’ roster is already set at the maximum 15 guaranteed contracts. So it looks like Mr. Forbes is trying out for other teams.

10/17/2013

Editor's note: The Brooklyn Nets have requested waivers on forward Gary Forbes, Nets General Manager Billy King announced tonight. Forbes, who was signed to the training camp roster on September 30, appeared in four preseason games, averaging 6.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

The Nets roster now stands at 17 players.

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez underwent successful surgery this morning, January 4, 2014, to repair the fractured fifth metatarsal of his right foot, Nets' General Manager Billy King announced.

The procedure was performed by Dr. James Nunley, Duke University Medical Center's Department Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nets' foot and ankle specialist Dr. Martin O'Malley and team medical director Dr. Riley Williams III. In addition to the fracture repair, a second procedure, a first metatarsal osteotomy, was performed to unload and protect the injured area.

"With this procedure, we both fixed the broken bone (fifth metatarsal) in Brook's right foot and repositioned another bone, so that the sole of his foot will bear weight more evenly than before," said Dr. Williams. "The repositioning portion of the surgery lessens the stress on the fractured bone, and decreases the likelihood of re-injury in the future."

Lopez, who was injured during the December 20th game at Philadelphia, is out for the remainder of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery and will be back on the court for offseason workouts.

At the time of his injury, Lopez was averaging a team-high 20.7 points along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.76 blocks through 17 games played this season.

Despite Williams and Lopez Absence Nets Ekes Out a Win

With the face of the franchise, Deron Williams undergoing yet another procedure to help cure his ailing ankles and without leading scorer Brook Lopez out for the rest of the year, the Brooklyn Nets and their modest 3-game winning streak took on the hottest team in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors, coached by ex-NY Knick Mark Jackson came into the Barclays Center on a 10 game winning streak, the last 6 on the road. They were looking to make history by becoming the first team to win 7 consecutive games on the road.

The Nets biggest task would come on the defensive end trying to figure out how to contain 3-point sharpshooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It didn't take long for both of them to start showing their shooting prowess. Tied at 6, Curry and Thompson hit 2 three-pointers each.

Said Nets starting guard Shaun Livingston, "they came out guns blazing."

Warriors Andre Iguodala added a 3 of his own and before the fans popcorn was cold, Golden State took a 16 (32-16) point lead. Brooklyn joined the 3-point party to close out the first period with baskets by Mirza Teletovic and Joe Johnson closing the gap to 10 (32-22).

Brooklyn took advantage to begin the second with both Curry and Thompson on the bench outscoring Golden State 11-4 (35-33) to get back in the game. Lee, who scored 11 first-half points, hits 3 straight baskets putting them up by 5 (34-38) before the Nets closed out the half with a flurry.

Kevin Garnett's first attempt and basket gave the Nets their first lead of the second half (47-46) and when Teletovic banked a 3-pointer at the buzzer, Brooklyn took 59-52 lead into the half. The Nets hoping that the Warriors second game in a row would catch up to them in the second half.

The hot shooting for both teams (52% for both) that paced them in the first half, cooled off considerably to begin the third period. At one point, Brooklyn missed 6 straight shots allowing Golden State to stay within 3 at 69-66. Curry then showed why he is an all-around player. Driving to the basket, he puts up a left-handed, floating shot as he gets banged by Teletovic the ball falling through the net getting them within 1 (74-73). Warriors Harrison Barnes 3-pointer gave them a 1-point lead (76-75) going into the final period.

Kevin Garnett Saves the Day

Neither team led by more than 4 (Nets 93-89) as the score was tied on six different occasions with the horrid shooting continuing. At one stretch, the Warriors would go almost 5 minutes without a field goal. The last tie at 93 came after an Andre Blatche (17 points off the bench) fade-away. With the game seemingly in hand, Livingston commits an unforgivable foul sending Curry to the free-throw line after fouling him behind the arc. Curry calmly sinks all three getting them within two points (98-96) and then old man Kevin Garnett saved the day and the streak for Brooklyn.

Kevin Garnett speaking with the media. Photo Credit: What's The 411 Networks

Aside from hitting on 3 of 4 baskets in the period, he steals a Curry pass attempt then hits 2 free throws to ice the game. Said Nets head coach Jason Kidd of Garnett's performance, "he looks like he's 25. Tonight defensively, he looked like he was 21."

The Brooklyn Nets were led by Joe Johnson and his 27 points while Curry finished with a game-high 34.

Unaware that his team was on the brink of making history, Jackson although disappointed in the loss focused on the bigger picture.

"None of us knew who actually held the record prior to us. The history we're chasing after is bigger than a 7-game road trip."

The Nets, as a team, made a conscious effort to put 2013 in their rearview and focus on 2014. Not a bad start after losing their most important player for the year and hoping their other important player could rebound from ankle problems.

Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie posts game-high 23 points and rookie center Jarrett Allen scored a career-high 20 points with five rebounds in the loss

The Barclays Center was a sea of Purple and Gold when the Los Angeles Lakers came to town for its match-up with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. The crowd was boisterous but respectful as they over-powered Nets fans in cheering the Lakers on to a 102-99 victory. Although the Nets lost, all was not lost for Nets fans as they got to see former stalwart Nets center Brook Lopez for the first time since he was traded to the Lakers. Lopez was the Nets’ rock, the solid foundation that helped keep the team together during the lowest points of the rebuilding years. On Friday night, the Nets management showed its respect for and gratitude to Brook Lopez with a video tribute.

So, on this night, Lopez belonged to both Nets and Lakers’ fans, and he was appreciative.

“It was great,” Lopez said about being embraced by the Lakers and Nets fans. “It was such an awesome moment. That’s the kind of stuff you dream about as a kid and to see that kind of support from both Laker and Nets fans it’s really awe-inspiring. It’s such a fantastic moment. I can’t thank them enough for the continued support.”

It’s easy for an organization to celebrate a solid player like Lopez, particularly when he can take it up a notch to help pull his team over the finish line.

“Brook (Lopez) was great, Lakers head coach Luke Walton told reporters about how Lopez impacted the outcome of the game. “He had a huge block down the stretch. Jarrett Allen was killing us tonight on his rolling. Brook recognized, he got there late and had a big block. He hit those big three’s obviously. When Brooklyn is out there and they have Quincy Acy playing at the center and four shooters running around, it’s challenging to not change your lineup as well. Brook was great tonight. He did a good job. We don’t win that game without him, obviously. He hits some big buckets for us, and like I said he had that big block for us.”

“The second unit did a great job of setting the tone in that fourth quarter,” Walton continued. “Our two biggest keys coming into tonight’s game were taking pride in our individual defense and rebounding. In the first half, our individual defense was awful, which is why Brooklyn had so many points. Second half we started to turn that up a little bit (individual defense). Our rebounding was pretty darn good all night. In the third quarter, we started playing some better defense and to start the fourth quarter our second unit was really engaged and communicating and being aggressive on that end of the court. It set the tone for being able to keep Brooklyn to a low scoring quarter.”

“Credit to Luke and his group, I thought they played a heck of a game,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told the media. “I thought we competed. I thought it was a great basketball game for the fans, for everybody to see and unfortunately we came out on the losing end.”

“I thought they made some shots,” Atkinson continued, as he explained the turning point in the game. “I think our offense got stagnant, really in that fourth. You love the pick-and-roll and I love it and Spencer’s (Dinwiddie) good at it and D’Angelo (Russell), but there are times we’ve got to get off it and move it a little more. So I thought our shot selection was iffy at best, I thought that hurt us and bad shots lead to what they do best, is transition, and they were coming at us in waves. But again, I think they played a heck of a game. ”

“I think they did a great job on the glass and we didn’t match their physicality in the rebounding game,” Dinwiddie said postgame. “They got extra shots and also limited us to one possession a lot of the time.”

To drive Dinwiddie’s point home, the Lakers out-rebounded the Nets 56 – 38.

Although, the Nets bench outscored the Lakers bench 41 – 30, it was Los Angeles’ starters that out-worked the Nets’ starters. Four of the five Lakers starters scored more than 15 points while only two Nets starters scored in double digits. For the Lakers, both Lopez and Julius Randle scored 19 points, while Randle added 12 rebounds to his tally. Brandon Ingram had a triple-double with 16 points, eight boards, and 10 assists; Josh Hart added 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Jordan Clarkson chipped in 11 points off the bench.

For the Nets, Dinwiddie posted a game-high 23 points, a team-high-tying seven rebounds, and a team-high nine assists in 32 minutes. Russell recorded 15 points, four rebounds and, three assists in 24 minutes off the bench. Joe Harris posted 11 points and a team-high-tying seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Harris has now scored in double figures in 25 games off the bench this season.

Nets rookie Jarrett Allen started and scored a career-high 20 points with five rebounds and a career-high-tying two steals in 24 minutes.

“It’s good to see that I’m progressing at a good level but it’s sad to see us lose,” Allen said regarding his career-high scoring accomplishment.

When asked about battling with former Nets center Brook Lopez, Allen said, “face of the franchise, now I’m here trying to become the face, too, so just going back and forth. It was a good challenge.”

Allen made some inroads, as he outscored and outrebounded Lopez, but time will tell if he will become the face of the Nets franchise.

We’re rooting for you, Jarrett Allen, we’re rooting for you.

Jerry Jones wants an incentive-based contract for Roger Goodell; Kristaps Porzingas leads Knicks; Deontay Wilder knocks out Bermane Stiverne; and more

VIDEO: Brooklyn Nets: new players, camaraderie, building upon last season, optimism, and how D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin will co-exist on the court

In this video, Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are discussing Brooklyn Nets Media Day 2017.

NBA players, Sean “Diddy” Combs and others stand behind NFL players; Brooklyn Nets Players look forward to new season; Time for safety nets at MLB stadiums

WHAT'S POPPIN'

Donald Trump Uses NFL to Boost his Ratings

Donald Trump injected himself into the NFL players’ protest against rogue police officers killing innocent Black men. Trump said at a campaign rally in Alabama that owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem and that fans should consider walking out in protest “when somebody disrespects our flag.” Trump’s comments touched off a firestorm.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t hesitate to give Trump serious pushback, stating:

“Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players.”

DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association tweeted: “We will never back down. We no longer can afford to stick to sports.”

A good number of NFL players took exception to Trump attempting to deny their US Constitutional right to free speech, and being called “sons of bitches”. NBA players and others are standing up, even Sean “Diddy” Combs commented.

Donald Trump Disinvites Golden State Warriors

Speaking of Donald Trump, he rescinded his invitation to the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House because Stephen Curry was hesitating and ultimately decided he did not want to go. “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!,” Trump tweeted. Based on the current climate, the UNC Men’s Basketball team decided its players won’t be visiting the White House either.

Carmelo Anthony Has Left the Building

It took a minute, but a deal that worked for all the parties involved finally got done. Carmelo Anthony is no longer a player for the New York Knicks; he is now signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony joins Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and company.

QUICK HITS

• Aaron Hernandez’s attorney says the late football player had extreme CTE and his suing the NFL and the New England Patriots on behalf of his daughter
• Floyd Mayweather told TMZ Sports that he has yet to cash his checks from the Pacquiao and McGregor fights.
• Carmelo Anthony set up a relief fund for Puerto Rico and he pledged 50 thousand dollars.
• The New York Yankees clinched a wild card playoff spot.

OTHER TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE

Is it time for Major League Baseball to install safety nets at its stadiums

Will fans ever forgive Kevin Durant for his fake Twitter account?

Brooklyn Nets Media Day 2017

With Carmelo Anthony gone, the face of the Knicks is now Kristaps Porzingas

OFF TOPIC

Co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records and Jay-Z’s business partner, Damon “Dame” Dash, is currently selling his coveted sneaker collection on eBay. Hosted on Shoezeum’s eBay shop, the collection is packed with some of the most coveted items from what many would consider to be the golden years of sneaker culture.

VIDEO DISCUSSION: Brooklyn Nets Teamwork

On NBA Draft night with the number 22 pick in the first round, the Brooklyn Nets chose Jarrette Allen, but prior to the draft they acquired D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov from the Lakers in exchange for Brook Lopez and a first round draft pick.

Russell attended NBA Summer League and like a good teammate, he cheered on the Nets. Reportedly, Russell stayed and watched the Lakers play.

The question among reporters that cover the Nets is will D’Angelo Russell benefit from the Nets development culture.

Jeremy Lin said he's very excited about having Russell playing in the backcourt with him, according to Nets general manager Sean Marks.

Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is known for developing guards, so the expectations that D’Angelo Russell will assimilate in Brooklyn is very high.

VIDEO: Jimmy Butler and Timberwolves are big winners in NBA Free Agency; Paul George lands in OKC, Brooklyn Nets, Knicks, focusing on young players

Before we get to our discussions of the top sports stories, here a couple of quick bites:

• The NBA fined Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid for foul language after he released a video on Instagram where he said, "F- LaVar Ball"
• Lakers small forward Brandon Ingram will miss the remainder of summer league due to cramping in his right leg
• The Miami Heat officially waived Chris Bosh and plan to retire his jersey. Bosh has since cleared waivers and is now a free agent.
• James Harden landed the biggest NBA extension contract in history. The deal, reportedly worth $228 M, would start trickling in 2019-20 at a salary of $37.8M, $40.8M, $43.8M and $46.8M.

NBA Free Agency

NBA free agency was in full effect this past week. And, Keisha and Mike are talking about the winners and those who did not do as well.

Paul George Goes to OKC

Indiana Pacers guard Paul George has left the building and has landed in OKC to play with NBA MVP, Russell Westbrook, and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder team. Has OKC positioned itself to be in better contention to take over the West? Did the Los Angeles Lakers miss the boat on not trading for him?

Lonzo Ball NBA Summer League Outing

As his father, LaVar Ball predicted, NBA Draft stand-out, Lonzo Ball is now in the NBA and playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Lonzo had a rough Game 1, but he managed to right his ship and played clicking on all cylinders for Game 2. Will Lonzo bring “show time” back to the Lakers?

What’s The 411Sports’ Photo of the Week

Our photo of the week is a photo of Markelle Fultz, the 2017 NBA Draft’s #1 pick overall, being helped off the court by his teammates because of an injured left ankle.

What’s The 411Sports’ New York Sports Report

Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets acquired Jarrett Allen in the 2017 NBA Draft at No. 22, and just before the draft, the Nets acquired guard D’Angelo Russell and center Timofey Mozgov from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Brook Lopez and a Nets first round draft pick. Russell attended NBA Summer League and like a good teammate, he cheered on the Nets. However, when the game was over, Russell stayed to watch the Lakers play.

Should D’Angelo Russell have stayed to watch the Lakers summer league game? Will the Nets development culture be able to assimilate D’Angelo Russell?

New York Knicks

Phil Jackson is out as the NY Knicks president and the Knicks inked a four-year deal to bring Tim Hardaway Jr. back after Jackson’s exit. New York Knick fans are crowing about Hardaway’s $71 million four-year deal. Meanwhile, David Griffin, former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager, has turned down the job of general manager of the New York Knicks.

Is this a good move to bring Hardaway back to the Knicks? Who made this decision? Would the Hardaway acquisition have happened if Phil Jackson was still with the Knicks?

The New York Yankees

New York Yankees were in a huge tailspin heading into the MLB All-Star Break.

Will the Yankees turn this ship around and sail into smoother waters?

New York Giants

New York Giant wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr landed on the number 8 spot on the list of Top 100 NFL Players of 2017 as determined by his peers.

Off Topic

LaVar Ball Gets Real

LaVar Ball’s camera-ready persona has reportedly landed the Ball family a reality-show deal. Deadline is reporting that the Ball family will be the focus of a yet-to-be-named docu-series as part of Facebook's push for original video content.

A Woman Uber Driver Gets First-Day Surprise

It was a woman’s first day as a Uber driver and she picked up Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee. How cool is that?