IZOD Finale Forges Connection to the Future
April 12, 2010
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Monday night, the Nets lost to the Bobcats, 105-95, in the team's final game at the IZOD Center, where they've played since the 1981-82 season. Though the Nets closed what had been a large lead to four points by the start of the fourth, a 12-1 run by Charlotte quickly extinguished the comeback. Stephen Jackson's 17 team-high points led six Bobcats in double-figures. For the Nets, rookie Terrence Williams turned in another strong all-around effort, tallying 21 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
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IZOD Finale Forges Connection to the Future
After 29 years, 1,228 home games and a 683-545 record, the Nets are moving on from the IZOD Center. The final game featured highlight-reel material, notably an alley-oop from Brook Lopez to Terrence Williams that will outlive the arena, but a fourth quarter the Nets would rather forget: a 12-1 Bobcats run pushed a four-point lead to 15; the Nets lost, 105-95.
Williams, who has come on strong late in the season, put up 21 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, pacing the Nets in not only the latter categories but also crowd-pleasing plays. The third-quarter oop from Lopez came early in an18-6 run that erased most of a 12-point deficit.
Driving down the left side of the court, but running out of room along the block, Lopez lofted a pass across the lane. The lob floated, hanging somewhere that should have been out of reach, about where you’d expect a center to have thrown it.
But Lopez knows his man – Williams has proved impossibly athletic. At full extension, an arm’s length away from the basket and head high as the rim, Williams slammed the dunk with enough force that his arm snapped back as if fingers had been burned.
“I was trying to emulate Jason Kidd with that lob to T-Will,” Lopez half-joked. “It was definitely interesting for me to see (the historical interludes on the scoreboard). I watched a lot of those teams, and they had a lot of good highlights.”
The video clips trigged similar bouts of nostalgia for the announced crowd of 14,118, which included Patrick Wendelken of Elmwood Park, N.J. The 23-year-old’s family have been season-ticket holders for two years, but coming to games for much longer than that.
Wendelken said Lopez is his favorite player on the current roster, but holds former shooting guard
And in Wendelken’s two years with a full home schedule, he’s been witness to a number of exciting finishes, like Devin Harris’ halfcourt heave against the Sixers. But for his money, the best was Vince Carter’s 33-foot game-winning three over Hawks forward Josh Smith as time expired on Jan. 2, 2009; it flipped a two-point loss into a one-point victory.
“They’ve been here 29 years,” Wendelken said. “I’ve been going here since I was born. It’s like you’re a part of history tonight.”
The Nets are hoping it’s history they can build upon as they move forward to an interim stay at Newark’s Prudential Center, where they’ll play until moving to Brooklyn’s soon-to-come Barclays Center. With 10 expiring contracts (three have player or team options) two first-round draft picks and more cap flexibility than every team except the Knicks, the Nets will field a new-look squad in the fall, ideally outfitted with star players complementing the developing core.
Lopez, who missed nary a game, anchored the middle with averages of 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in just his second season. Courtney Lee (18 points, six rebounds) battled through a brutal early-season shooting slump to pull his percentages to respectable levels while providing a solid third offensive option and lockdown defense, especially on opposing point guards.
After struggling to find his rhythm at the NBA level early on, Williams steadily progressed and began to harness his point forward potential, culminating in a triple-double against the Bulls on Saturday. And forward Yi Jianlian (14 points, 10 rebounds) established himself as a rotation player, averaging career highs with 11.8 PPG and 7.0 RPG while flashing an aggressiveness that first manifested in international play over the summer.
“Our young players got a lot of experience,” said wizened sixth-year-veteran Devin Harris, who turned in a 17-point, seven-assist season. “The latter part of the season, they played a lot better. Brook has established himself in the low post; he’s gotten a lot better since last year. A lot of our young players really developed.”
