Tag: New York Nets

Kyrie Irving and his Nets teammates were incensed after a fan threw a water bottle toward them

The water bottle missed Kyrie Irving’s head as he was walking off the court.

Kyrie Irving has not had the warmest of welcomes back to Boston in the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Irving felt the heat from Celtics fans during Game 3 of Boston’s series against the New York Nets and received boos before the warmups of Game 4.

Boos are all well and good, but on Sunday a fan cross the line after chucking a water bottle at Irving and his Nets teammates on their way back to the locker room following a 141-126 New York final. Irving and his teammates were not pleased at all with the fan and stopped to argue with the Celtics supporter before leaving the court.

Here’s how the incident went down postgame.

That is clearly a water bottle being thrown, which nearly hit Irving on his way off the court. It was reported after the game that the Celtics fan in question was arrested and escorted out of TD Garden by police in handcuffs.

After the game, Kevin Durant had some… choice words for the unruly fans.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen fans toss things at players this week, as a Sixers fan was ejected from the Wells Fargo Center after dumping popcorn on Russell Westbrook during Game 2 of the series.

The Nets win on Sunday now pushes the Celtics to the brink, as New York leads Boston in the series 3-1.

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Today in Nets history: Bill Paultz evens ’72 ABA Finals with double-double

Billy Paultz and Rick Barry combined for 56 of the Nets’ 110 points in their May 15 win over the Pacers in 1972.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

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 impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

The Indiana Pacers gained the advantage in the 1972 ABA Finals with a win in Game 3, but the Nets weren’t about to let them steal two games in a row in New York.

After trailing at the end of three quarters, the Nets rallied in the fourth to win their May 15 matchup 110-105, knotting the series up at 2-2 (full box score).

Billy Paultz had a monster game, finishing with 30 points and 18 boards. Johnny Baum also had a double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds), and Rick Barry finished one assist shy of posting one himself (26 points).

John Roche (17 points) and Oliver Taylor (16) each finished in double figures, as well.

Today in Nets history: Nets win last ABA Finals

No one had a better end to their ABA run than Julius Erving and the New York Nets.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

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 impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

The 1975-76 season was the ABA’s last. For some teams, it was the end of the line. For others, like the Nets, it marked the start of a new chapter. But before the Nets moved onto the NBA, they made sure to have a better end to their ABA run than anyone else.

Up 3-2 in the 1976 ABA Finals heading into Game 6 on May 13, the Nets fell behind in the first quarter, still trailed at halftime and entered the fourth down 92-78.

Then everything changed in the final quarter. The Nets followed up their 33-point third quarter with a 34-point fourth, while holding the Denver Nuggets to a measly 14 points, en route to a 112-106 Game 6 win and their second ABA title in three seasons (full box score).

Julius Erving finished with a team-high 31 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocked shots. Jim Eakins also had a double-double (15 points and 13 rebounds) while John Williamson (28 points) and Brian Taylor (24) helped provided most of the Nets’ offense, along with Dr. J.

Jason Kidd, Vince Carter on ESPN’s list of all-time NBA players

Jason Kidd is the best player in Nets history. Vince Carter is up there, too. But where do the two rank among all NBA players al-time?

ESPN’s “The Last Dance” has given those who weren’t able to watch Michael Jordan’s tremendous run in the ’90s a greater understanding of why so many consider him the greatest of all-time. But now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s name has been brought back up in the G.O.A.T. conversation, and LeBron James’ name is always in the mix.

ESPN has yet to address where those two stand among the league’s best ever, but they’re counting down from No. 74 all-time. Along the way, the list has featured quite a few players who once dawned a Nets uniform, like Dikembe Mutumbo (No. 73), Bernard King (69) Alonzo Mourning (62), Bob McAdoo (59), Paul Pierce (54) and Kevin Garnett (20). Kevin Durant is also on the list at No. 14, but he has yet to play in a game for the Nets.

There are three individuals, however, who were more prominent in the franchise’s history that crack ESPN’s list, through No. 11. Vince Carter finished just behind Pierce, coming in at No. 55. Twenty slots later, Jason Kidd was ranked the 35th best player in the league’s history — five spots behind Steve Nash, who finished right behind Allen Iverson (29) and John Stockton (28).

Oddly enough, 20 more slots after Kidd came the man who led the Nets to two ABA titles, Julius Erving (15).

Ranking the top five point guards in Nets history

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Ranking the top five centers in Nets history

Today in Nets history: Nets win first ABA title

May 10 marks a major anniversary for the Nets franchise.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

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 impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After the New York Nets took a 3-0 series lead in the 1974 ABA Finals, the Utah Stars forced a Game 5 on May 10 when they won Game 4 97-89.

Willie Wise tried his best to force a Game 6, leading both teams with 34 points, but Julius Erving and the Nets had other plans.

Dr. J scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, finishing with one of New York’s three double-doubles en route to a 111-100 Game 5 win and an ABA Finals title (full box score).

Larry Kenon led the Nets with 23 points. He also finished with double digits in the rebounding column (11).  Billy Paultz had the Nets’ third double-double (21 points and 12 rebounds), and he also had four steals.

Biran Taylor scored 19 points in the win and John Williamson logged 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Today in Nets history: Nets win first ABA Finals game in franchise history

While the 1974 and 1976 ABA Finals are remembered fondly by the Nets franchise, it wasn’t the first one the team was featured in.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

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 impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After losing in the semifinals of 1970 and 1971 ABA Playoffs, the New York Nets made it all the way to the ABA Finals in 1972. Their opponent was the Indiana Pacers, who won it all in 1970.

Indy took it to the Nets in Game 1, winning by 21 points, but the same could not be said of their Game 2 meeting on May 8. Rich Barry (29) and Bill Melchionni (26) combined for 55 points as the Nets won their first ABA Finals win in franchise history 117-115 to even the series 1-1 (full box score).

Barry also had eight boards, and Melchionni finished with seven assists.

Billy Paultz (18 points and 15 rebounds) and Johnny Baum (14 points and 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles.

John Roche matched Paultz’s scoring output while also going 8-for-15 from the floor.

Today in Nets history: Dr. J, John Williamson regain edge in ’76 ABA Finals

The New York Nets took the lead in the 1976 ABA Finals over the Denver Nuggets on May 6.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

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 impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After the Denver Nuggets won Game 2 of the 1976 ABA Finals to even things at 1-1, the series came to New York for Game 3. David Thompson (32 points) and Dan Issel (25 points and 13 rebounds) were good, but the Nets were better.

Four Nets finished with double-digit rebounds: Tim Bassett (12), Kim Hughes (11), Julius Erving (10) and Rich Jones (10). Erving (31 points), Jones (22) and Hughes (14) each finished in double figures in the scoring column, as well, en route to a 117-111 win and 2-1 series lead (full box score).

Most efficient of all the Nets’ scorers in the win was John Williamson. The guard finished with 28 points on 56.5% shooting (13-for-23).

Nets’ old school uniform ranked among NBA’s 10 best all-time by ESPN

Three of the Nets franchise’s jerseys rank among the NBA’s 74 best of all-time according to ESPN. Two of the jerseys are Brooklyn editions.

When the Nets moved to Brooklyn, they completely changed their look, changing their base colors to black and white. The color scheme is much simpler than what the team had in New Jersey, but sometimes that can be a good thing — as is the case in this instance.

As such, the Nets’ main Brooklyn uniform is featured on ESPN’s list of top 74 jerseys in NBA history, yet there is no iteration from either the Kenny Anderson or Jason Kidd eras in New Jersey.

However, the Nets’ black and white is not the team’s highest-ranked uniform on the list. The black and white jersey is No. 69.

Twenty spots ahead at No. 49 are the jerseys which paid respect to Biggie:

Credit: Brad Penner – USA TODAY Sports

Then there’s one Nets more uniform that makes the list.

Cracking the top-10 at No.  9 all-time is the Stars and Stripes uniform the New York Nets wore in the ABA, which the franchise held onto for a short while in New Jersey after joining the NBA.

Credit: Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Network.

Today in Nets history: Dr. J scores 45 in Game 1 of 1976 ABA Finals

Julius Erving helped the Nets start the last ABA Finals on the right foot by hitting a game-winning jumper on May 1, 1976.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

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 impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

Two years and a day after Julius Erving opened up the 1974 ABA Finals with a 47-point performance in the New York Nets’ win over the Utah Stars, Dr. J did something similar against the Denver Nuggets.

The last ABA Finals began on May 1, 1976, with Denver playing host.

The game was a battle down to the wire. The Nets had the final possession at the end of regulation after Nuggets big man Marvin Webster tied the game at 118-118. Following a timeout, Dr. J caught the inbounds pass and drilled a baseline jumper as the clock wound down, giving the Nets a 1-0 series advantage (full box score).

Rich Jones (18 points), John Williamson (17) and Brian Taylor (12) each finished in double figures for the Nets.

Kim Hughes had 10 rebounds for New York, finishing second only to Erving (12).

RELATED: Ranking the top five small forwards in Nets history

Every NBA League Pass classic game featuring Nets

The 1976 ABA Slam Dunk contest featuring Nets legend Julius Irving is available for free on NBA League Pass.

The NBA and Turner Sports are trying to help basketball fans who are stuck at home during the novel coronavirus outbreak — while also assisting with the promotion of social distancing — by making NBA League Pass free for everyone until April 22.

Fans now have hours of basketball to watch, even though the games aren’t ongoing. For Brooklyn Nets fans, there are quite a few wild games from the 2019-20 season worth rewatching.

There’s also quite a bit of classic content available with the promotion, as well. Here are all the classic games — and one slam dunk contest — that feature the Nets or individual Nets players:

Nets vs. Knicks on Christmas Day 1984

Bernard King’s 60-point performance on Christmas Day in 1984 is one of those games New York basketball will never forget.

However, as much as King was efficient from the field (19-for-30) and at the free-throw line (22-for-26), his Knicks did not get past the New Jersey Nets, who were led by Michael Ray Richardson, Mike Gminski and Buck Williams that day.

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