NBA: Durant set to stay with Nets after management talks

NEW YORK -- Kevin Durant looks set to remain with the Brooklyn Nets after holding talks with the club's management team, the Nets said in a statement on Tuesday.

Durant, who requested a trade from the club on June 30, met Nets chiefs in Los Angeles on Monday to discuss his future.

A statement from Nets manager Sean Marks on Tuesday indicated that the 33-year-old 12-time NBA All-Star would remain a Brooklyn player.

"(Head coach) Steve Nash and I, together with (owners) Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday," Marks said.

"We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn."

The statement appears to draw a line under the frenzy of speculation surrounding Durant's future.

A slew of teams had reportedly been interested in restructuring their rosters in an effort to accommodate the superstar.

Earlier this month, multiple US reports said Durant had issued an ultimatum to Nets owner Tsai -- telling him to either fire Marks and Nash or grant his request for a trade.

Durant's trade demand in June came less than a year after he signed a four-year $198 million contract extension with Brooklyn.

However the 33-year-old has grown increasingly frustrated with the direction of the franchise according to reports, and was eager for a change of scenery.

The Nets had hoped to build a super-team around Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. 

However the trio of stars were unable to turn Brooklyn into championship contenders and were swept in the first round of this year's playoffs by the Boston Celtics.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Durant, Irving lead Nets over Pacers, Celtics take second seed

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combined for 55 points as the Brooklyn Nets held off a rally from the Indiana Pacers on Sunday to seal seventh place in the Eastern Conference and clinch home advantage for next week's play-in.

The Nets' final regular season game looked set to be a blowout for long periods as Brooklyn jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half.

But a dogged Pacers unit drew level at 89-89 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter before Brooklyn regrouped to pull clear and run out 134-126 winners.

The win means Brooklyn will face a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday where a victory will see them enter directly into the playoffs as seventh seeds.

The Nets will head into that showdown buoyed by the recent form of Irving and Durant.

Irving finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and five assists on Sunday, going 15-of-20 from the field.

Durant, meanwhile, completed a triple double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists while Brooklyn had six players finish in double figures.

"It's been an up and down last few weeks for us -- winning some games, losing some games," Durant said afterwards. 

"I think we're finding out who we are as a group and that's always a good thing." 

Durant is now looking forward eagerly to the business end of the season, starting with Tuesday's assignment against Cleveland. 

"It's been a long year and this is the perfect time of the year to play our best basketball," Durant said.

A Brooklyn victory over Cleveland on Tuesday would see the Nets face the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Tatum 'proud' of Celtics

That crunch showdown -- which would pit Irving against his former club -- was made possible after the Celtics vaulted over the Milwaukee Bucks into second place in the standings.

The Celtics clinched the second seed after a 139-110 blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies in their final game on Sunday.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum led the rout with 31 points -- making 11-of-14 from the field -- in just 26 minutes on court. Jaylen Brown added 18 points with Al Al Horford scoring 13.

The Grizzlies, who had already clinched second place in the Western Conference, rested several of their first choice starting line-up.

The Celtics rise to the second seeding is all the more remarkable given their indifferent early season form. 

As recently as February, Boston were languishing in ninth place in the East, well outside the automatic playoff places.

"It was a tough one, I'm proud of my group and proud of how we responded throughout the season," Tatum said afterwards. 

"It didn't start off well but we managed to figure it out and we've been on a roll and hopefully we'll keep it going through the playoffs."

Milwaukee meanwhile dropped to third in the Eastern Conference standings after their under-strength lineup was thumped 133-115 by the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday.

The Bucks were without key players Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis for the game which was notable for a bizarre fleeting cameo by another mainstay Jrue Holiday.

Holiday came onto the court for the tipoff and promptly committed a foul after eight seconds before leaving the court without returning. 

Reports said the brief appearance allowed him to collect a $255,000 bonus included in his contract for featuring in 67 games this season.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Irving casts spell over Magic with record 60

LOS ANGELES -- Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 60 points in a dazzling display as the Brooklyn Nets stretched their NBA winning streak with a 150-108 thrashing of the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

Nets star Irving -- who had bagged 50 points last week in a victory over Charlotte -- delivered another performance for the ages against an outclassed Magic at Orlando's Amway Center.

Irving's tour de force surpassed his previous career best of 57 points, set in 2015 while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

"I felt good," Irving said after his epic display. "It really is a testament to the way we've been gelling as a team -- us just giving each other confidence and doing the right things. 

"When you can get 60 in the flow of the game and it doesn't seem forced, and you're not putting up a few too many bad shots, and you come to the bench and guys are supporting you, telling you to go after the record -- that makes the basketball worth it."

The 29-year-old Australian-born seven-time All-Star made 20-of-31 from the field, making eight of 12 attempts from outside the arc.

A career-high performance for Irving looked inevitable after an explosive first half from Brooklyn. 

The Nets piled on 48 points in the first quarter alone before adding 38 in the second quarter to lead 86-56 at half-time.

Irving contributed 41 points in that devastating first half, leaving him only 16 shy of his individual record.

He brought up 50 points -- the sixth half-century of his career -- with a driving layup in the third quarter, prompting appreciative chants of "Kyrie, Kyrie" from the Orlando crowd.

Two free throws saw him reach his record at 57 and then a magical three-point pull-up from 26 feet saw him hit the 60-point mark.

Irving's points haul came 24 hours after the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns scored 60 in a victory over the Spurs. 

It is the first time different players have scored 60 points or more on consecutive nights in the NBA since 1962.

It also came two days after team-mate Kevin Durant scored 53 in a weekend win over the New York Knicks. 

Irving admitted the friendly rivalry with Durant was spurring him on.

"Across the league guys are putting up crazy numbers, but when you have two guys on the same team competing, friendly competition, brotherly competition," Irving said.

"Of course we talk about it but we really want to be savants about this. We take the game seriously, we want to be efficient with it, and make everyone feel good. And prove to every team in the league we can be efficient defensively and offensively."

Irving admitted the ovation from the Orlando crowd had been a career first.

"This is what the game is about, just bringing the love, performing well and doing it with a humble approach," he said.

Six other Nets players finished with double-digit points tallies, with Durant adding 19 points, Patty Mills 15 and Kessler Edwards 14.

Cole Anthony led the Orlando scoring with 19 points.

Brooklyn's fourth consecutive win saw the Nets improve to 36-33 to keep their hopes of an automatic playoff berth alive. The Nets are eighth in the Eastern Conference, three wins behind the sixth placed Cavaliers.

Orlando meanwhile remain rooted to the foot of the Eastern Conference with an 18-52 record.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: ‘Energized’ Durant (knee) confirms return on Thursday vs. Heat

Brooklyn star Kevin Durant confirmed after the morning shootaround that he will indeed return for the Nets' game against the visiting Miami Heat on Thursday night.

Durant was removed from the injury report Wednesday after missing a month and a half with a sprained left MCL.

"I feel energized," Durant said Thursday. "I feel grateful for the opportunity to play. It sucks being out and not being around the team. I felt bad not being able to help and contribute and try to turn some things around for us. But get an opportunity tonight and hopefully moving forward where I can inject what I do into this team and it hopefully it provides some good results."

Durant is averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season, but he's been out since Jan. 15 and has played in only 36 games in 2021-22.

The Nets enter Thursday 32-31, good for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Nets have 19 regular season games left to play their way out of the play-in tournament.

They still don't know when Ben Simmons (back) will be ready to make his season and team debut while Kyrie Irving still can't participate in home games due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We are cutting it close. There's under 20 games left in the season, but that's the situation we're in, that's the circumstances we're in. So what? We got to go out there and figure it out," Durant said. "We know what the standings are. We know everybody's telling us every day how far we're dropping and where we may end up, constantly telling us the situation we're in."

-reuters

NBA: Sweet 16: Suns' hot streak continues with win over Nets

Devin Booker scored 30 points as the Phoenix Suns never trailed, survived a late comeback attempt by the Brooklyn Nets and pushed their winning streak to 16 games with a 113-107 victory Saturday night.

The Suns are on their second-longest winning streak in team history. Phoenix can match the 2006-07 team for the longest winning streak in franchise lore by beating the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Booker shot 9 of 18 from the field and hit four 3-pointers. He did most of his scoring in the first and third quarters.

Chris Paul added 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Paul shot 9 of 19 and notched his 5,000th career rebound in the second.

Mikal Bridges added 13 while Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee contributed 10 apiece as Phoenix shot 44.6 percent.

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 39 points, but Brooklyn saw its four-game winning streak stopped.

LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre' Bembry contributed 18 apiece for Brooklyn, which shot 50 percent but also committed 20 turnovers. James Harden finished with a triple-double of 12 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds despite shooting 4 of 15.

Booker scored 16 when the Suns sped out to a 21-8 lead midway through the first quarter and held a 14-point lead after the opening 12 minutes. He added 10 more in the third when the Nets got within seven early in the quarter and helped the Suns take a 90-72 lead into the fourth.

Brooklyn made one last charge, getting within 108-101 on Harden's layup that gave him the triple-double with 2:31 remaining. 

Durant's layup made it 110-103 with 45 seconds left and Harden's layup made it 111-105 with 32 seconds remaining, but Booker finished by hitting two free throws with 19 ticks left.

-reuters-

NBA: Kyrie Irving could skip games rather than get COVID vaccine -- report

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving does not want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and his aunt suggested to Rolling Stone that the NBA should reach some sort of compromise with anti-vaccine players that would allow them to compete in a reduced number of games.

Rolling Stone's report Saturday on the anti-vax movement inside the NBA came on the heels of a different report from Fox Sports, saying Irving had yet to receive his first COVID jab. 

The NBA is not mandating that players receive a vaccine, but New York City has a mandate in place that would disallow athletes from practicing or playing in games inside city limits.

"There are so many other players outside of him who are opting out, I would like to think they would make a way," Kyrie's aunt, Tyki Irving, told Rolling Stone. "It could be like every third game. So it still gives you a full season of being interactive and being on the court, but with the limitations that they're, of course, oppressing upon you.

"There can be some sort of formula where the NBA and the players can come to some sort of agreement."

Roughly 50 to 60 NBA players have yet to receive the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Rolling Stone reported.

The report also noted that Irving follows an Instagram account whose owner spreads baseless conspiracy theories that COVID vaccines are part of "Satan's ultimate plan to enslave the human soul." He has liked some of the account's posts.

Irving also wields power in his role as a vice president on the executive committee of the players' union.

The 2021-22 NBA regular season begins Oct. 19, when the Nets are scheduled to play the Milwaukee Bucks on the road. Their home opener is Oct. 24 against Charlotte.

Irving is no stranger to missing games for personal reasons. He took an 11-day, seven-game leave of absence from the Nets early in the 2020-21 season for what he deemed "family and personal stuff."

-reuters

NBA: No Harden, no problem as Nets hammer Bucks for 2-0 series edge

Kevin Durant scored 32 points in three quarters and the Brooklyn Nets did not miss a beat without James Harden, cruising to a 125-86 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in New York.

The second-seeded Nets lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 ahead of Game 3 on Thursday in Milwaukee.

Brooklyn, which never trailed, led by as many as 49 points in the fourth quarter. The Nets led by double digits for the final 39:11.

In 33 minutes, Durant shot 12 of 18 from the field and posted his fourth 30-point game of the postseason. He also hit four 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and handed out six assists.

Durant finished his latest productive game by going around Giannis Antetokounmpo for a reverse layup with 4.8 seconds left in the third quarter to give Brooklyn a 95-65 lead.

Kyrie Irving added 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and had six assists for the Nets, who shot 52.1 percent and set a franchise postseason record with 21 3-pointers. It marked the fourth time in their first seven postseason games the Nets shot at least 50 percent from the floor.

Antetokounmpo led the third-seeded Bucks with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 8 of 15 from the floor and missed five of seven free-throw attempts. He is shooting 53.5 percent (23 of 43) from the foul line in the postseason.

Milwaukee's Khris Middleton added 17 points but missed his first eight shots, finished 8 of 20 from the floor and committed five turnovers. Jrue Holiday was held to 13 points.

The Bucks shot 44 percent and misfired on 19 of 27 3-point tries after shooting 6 of 30 from behind the arc in Game 1.

Harden watched from the bench after being ruled out due to right hamstring tightness. He was injured 43 seconds into Brooklyn's 115-107 win in the series opener on Saturday.

Without Harden, the Nets dominated early and cruised to their fifth double-digit win of the postseason.

Durant scored 21 as the Nets led by as many as 27 points before halftime and took a 65-41 edge into the break. He made 7 of 10 shots prior to intermission, including a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first quarter that put the Nets up 36-19 after the opening 12 minutes.

-reuters

Kyrie Irving officially joins Brooklyn Nets

NEW YORK – Six-time NBA all-star guard Kyrie Irving signed a contract Sunday (Monday Manila time) with the Brooklyn Nets, finalizing a deal unveiled last weekend to revamp the club that includes obtaining superstar Kevin Durant.

The Nets, who inked center DeAndre Jordan on Saturday, added top talent to a solid young playoff team and figure to be even tougher with Durant, who will miss next season after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon.

Irving, 27, averaged 23.8 points, career highs of 5.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.5 steals over 67 games with Boston last season.

"Kyrie is one of the NBA's elite guards and has won at the highest level," Nets general manager Sean Marks said.

"His championship pedigree, coupled with his gifted scoring and playmaking abilities, will make him an outstanding addition to our team," the first New Zealander to play in the NBA added.

Irving helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win the 2016 NBA crown and was a member of the 2016 Rio Olympics US gold medal squad.

"The entire coaching staff is excited to have the opportunity to coach a player of Kyrie's caliber," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said.

"He's as talented and accomplished as any point guard in our game and we are enthusiastic about integrating him and our other new roster additions into our returning core."

Over eight seasons with Boston and Cleveland, Irving has averaged 22.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals over 508 career games.

source: philstar.com

Joe Harris outguns Steph Curry to bag NBA 3-point shootout crown

MANILA, Philippines – Brooklyn's Joe Harris had himself a splash party in the 2019 NBA All-Star 3-point shootout, edging Golden State star Steph Curry to come away with the title.

Harris had a perfect money ball rack in both the first and championship rounds. The Brooklyn Nets guard set the bar high to start the competition, coming in first and scoring a whopping 25 points.

Fellow 3-point shootout newbie Buddy Hield passed Harris in the first round, scoring 26 points of his own. But it was the older Curry who led the way going into the championship round with 27 points from deep.

Come championship round, Harris was still on fire and hit another perfect money ball rack to improve on his first round score. He led the pack with 26. Hield scored 19 while Steph Curry almost forced a tie-break with 24 points.

Curry made his first nine attempts in the championship round.

source: philstar.com

76ers rally past Nets

Butler hits winning 3 Again

NEW YORK – Jimmy Butler made a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining to give the Philadelphia 76ers a 127-125 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

Butler’s shot from the right wing, similar to the one that beat Charlotte in overtime on Nov. 17, capped Philadelphia’s rally from 20 points down in a game the Nets led nearly all the way.

Butler finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Joel Embiid had 32 points and 12 boards for the 76ers.


D’Angelo Russell had 38 points, his highest total with the Nets, and added eight assists and eight rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 31 points off the bench.

In Los Angeles, Nikola Vucevic had 31 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and Terrence Ross made a go-ahead lay-up with 34 seconds left to help Orlando beat Los Angeles, 108-104.

Ross scored 16 points as the Magic defeated the Lakers for the second time in eight days. Orlando won 130-117 at home on Nov. 17.

Aaron Gordon had 17 points and D.J. Augustin added 12 points and nine assists for the Magic.

LeBron James had 24 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who had won three straight games and six of their past seven. Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points and Brandon Ingram added 17.

In Toronto, Kawhi Leonard had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Lowry added 12 points and 10 assists, and Toronto won its fifth straight game, beating Miami, 125-115.

Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, two shy of his career high, as the Raptors improved their NBA-leading record to 17-4.

Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 35 points, the most ever by a Miami bench player. Josh Richardson scored 19 points and Bam Adebayo had 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, but the Heat lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Elsewhere, it was Knicks 103, Grizzlies 98; Clippers 104, Trail Blazers 100;  Pistons 118, Suns 107; Hawks 124, Hornets 123; Jazz 133, Kings 112.

source: philstar.com

Nets trap sloppy Sixers; Lebron, Lakers drowning

NEW YORK – D’Angelo Russell snapped out of a slump with 13 of his 21 points in the second half, and the Brooklyn Nets kept the sloppy Philadelphia 76ers winless on the road with a 122-97 victory on Sunday night.

The 76ers committed 28 turnovers, most in the NBA this season, leading to 39 points for the Nets. They fell to 0-5 away from home. They are 6-0 in Philadelphia.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson also scored 21 points and Caris LeVert had 20 for the Nets. They took a small lead into halftime thanks to 17 Philadelphia turnovers, then blew it open with a 41-point third quarter that was one of the biggest in Barclays Center history.


They kept pouring it on in the fourth and 76ers coach Brett Brown pulled Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons midway through the period facing a 24-point deficit.

Embiid finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, taking only eight shots a day after going for 39 points and 17 rebounds in a victory over Detroit. Simmons had 20 points and 12 boards.


In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had his second triple-double this season with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to help Milwaukee rout Sacramento, 144-109.

The Bucks improved to 8-1 – the best nine-game start in franchise history. They set a season high for points in a game and also set the franchise record for 3s made with 22.

Antetokounmpo’s first triple-double came against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 24 when he had 32 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.

In Los Angeles, Serge Ibaka made his first 14 shots on the way to a career-high 34 points, and Toronto didn’t need an injured Kawhi Leonard in a 121-107 victory over the Lakers.

Ibaka had 10 rebounds and didn’t miss a shot until 5:16 remained in the third quarter, finishing 15 of 17 in a masterful performance. Kyle Lowry added 21 points and 15 assists as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors improved to 9-1 with their eighth consecutive win over the Lakers since 2014.

Toronto opened a stunning 31-point lead in the first quarter and didn’t let it dwindle significantly until the final minutes, when the Lakers’ youngster got the margin down to 117-107 with LeBron James on the bench. Toronto was forced to re-insert its starters in the final minutes to preserve the win.

James finished with 18 points and six assists. Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points and Brandon Ingram added 16 for the Lakers, They are 4-6 after their first 10 games with James.

In other NBA games, it was Wizards 108, Knicks 95; Trail Blazers 111, Timberwolves 81; Magic 117, Spurs 110; Phoenix 102, Grizzlies 100.   

source: philstar.com

Jeremy Lin set to miss season with knee injury

NEW YORK – Jeremy Lin’s 2017-18 NBA season looks to be over after the Chinese-American suffered a knee injury that left him writhing in pain on the court in his team’s season-opening loss, the Brooklyn Nets said on Thursday.

Lin, who was diagnosed with a ruptured patella tendon of the right knee, landed awkwardly and crumpled to the floor after driving to the basket for a layup in the fourth quarter of the Nets’ 140-131 loss to the host Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old guard, who had 18 points and four assists in 25 minutes, immediately clutched his knee and said “I‘m done” before bursting into tears and being helped off the court.

“Jeremy worked tremendously hard during the off-season and in training camp and was excited for the prospects of the team this season,” Nets General Manager Sean Marks said in a statement.

“We feel awful that the injury will cost him the season, however our entire organization will be there to support Jeremy in every way possible throughout his recovery. Jeremy remains an important part of this team and will continue to contribute in a leadership role.”

Lin, the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, went from an unknown professional basketball player to an overnight sporting sensation in 2012 when he led a winning turnaround for his former New Knicks team.

He averaged 20.9 points and 8.4 assists per game in February of that year while leading the Knicks to 10 wins in a 13-game stretch that overwhelmed New York City and caught the imagination of Knicks fans.

Lin went on to appear on the covers of numerous magazines, and replicas of his No. 17 jersey soon became a top seller amid a media and fan frenzy around him nicknamed “Linsanity”.

Lin, who was benched later in that breakout season after suffering a knee injury, left the Knicks a few months later after they refused to match a restricted offer sheet in free agency.

He went on to play for the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets before signing a three-year, $36 million contract with Brooklyn last year.

source: interaksyon.com

Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett lead Brooklyn Nets over Miami Heat

BROOKLYN — Thirteen straight times, the Brooklyn Nets had fallen short to the Miami Heat.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were not around for any of those games but having battled the Heat in the postseason with the Boston Celtics, they were determined not to extend that losing streak for their new team.

Pierce scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, helping the Nets build a double-digit lead before they withstood a furious Miami charge in the final three minutes and pulled out a 101-100 victory Friday night in its much anticipated home opener.

“I think we wanted this a little more,” Garnett said. “No disrespect to the champs and what they are trying to accomplish this year, but we knew playing at home, coming from Cleveland that we would play better.

“We watched a lot of film and saw our mistakes, so we were locked into what we wanted to do and we played with that in mind through the whole game.”

Pierce played 31 minutes, made 5-of-10 shots and went 8-of-8 from the foul line. His biggest plays of the night were a 19-foot jump shot with 6:13 remaining that put the Nets up 90-78 and an emphatic block on LeBron James a minute later.

“Whenever you are trying to establish something against the champs it’s going to be like a playoff atmosphere,” Pierce said. “KG really talked about that coming into the game. Expect it to be like the playoffs, don’t expect anything to go our way because they are the team to beat. It’s good that we got a taste of this type of atmosphere to see where we are at. Miami is the measuring stick for everybody so it was good to come out and get the win.”

“I think it was (a statement game),” Nets center Brook Lopez said. “It’s the defending world champs, you don’t want to come out and be soft and give this one away. So we wanted to show we could come out and compete with them.”

Joe Johnson, who also had 19 points, added a pair of 3-pointers to expand the lead to 96-84 with 2:47 left but then the Heat made their charge. They were within 96-94 on a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers with 18 seconds left but could not complete the comeback

James led all scorers with 26 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 for Miami, which is under .500 for the second time since James and Chris Bosh joined the team in 2010.

“A little bit of unmotivated basketball I thought at the start,” James said.

James scored his final points on a left corner 3-pointer that made it 99-98 with four seconds remaining but Johnson hit two free throws to push the edge to 101-98. Bosh made the free throw and when he sank the second, the Heat had no chance for the comeback and the Nets simply ran out the clock.

“We tried to make it a game at the end,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s pretty clear tonight we didn’t play well. We didn’t play consistently or how we need to play.”

The game had a lot of hype for the budding rivalry with two preseason meetings that featured a few hard fouls, criticism from James about Garnett and Pierce going from Boston to the Nets. Garnett responded to James by telling him to mind his business and the MVP seemed to follow declining to discuss the Nets before and after the game.

“I am not commenting on any other team, OK,” James said. “They won and they are 1-1 and we are 1-2.”

The Nets trailed for just 88 seconds and turned a 47-47 halftime tie into an impressive third quarter showing. Pierce scored 11 points and the Nets took a 78-67 lead into the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Garnett played 26 minutes in the victory, leaving him seven behind Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place in career minutes in NBA history. … Lopez’s eight rebounds give him 2,405 for his career, passing Keith Van Horn for eighth place on the Nets’ career rebounding list. … Andrei Kirilenko was a game-time decision with back spasms but played 12 minutes and scored eight points. … Wade remains seven blocks from breaking Dennis Johnson’s career record for blocked shots by a player 6 feet 4 or shorter at 675. … The Nets travel to take on Orlando on Sunday, and Miami returns home to face Washington. … Joe Prunty coached the Nets as head coach Jason Kidd served the final game of a two-game suspension for a DWI last summer in the Hamptons.

source: interaksyon.com