With the NBA going on hiatus — which NBA commissioner Adam Silver set as at least 30 days on Thursday — and New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, placing a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, no Brooklyn Nets games will be played for the time being.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight major individual performances and key developments throughout Nets history:
Even though the New Jersey Nets lost 97-93 to the Chicago Bulls (full box score), March 16, 1996 was a big day for Chris Childs. The second-year point logged his first NBA triple-double, finishing with 18 points on 6-for-17 shooting (2-for-5 from deep), 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Shawn Bradley had a double-double (17 points and 12 rebounds) and Armen Gilliam led the Nets with 21 points.
But Michael Jordan was too much for the Nets to handle — on both ends of the floor. The legend scored 37 points and had 16 rebounds. Jordan also dished out five assists, blocked three shots and had one steal.
Among the other Bulls players to finish in double-figures was Steve Kerr (10 points), who went on to coach Kevin Durant while the now-Brooklyn Nets forward was with the Golden State Warriors.