BROOKLYN — There are 30 NBA teams, which play their home games in 29 arenas (thanks to the Clippers and Lakers sharing the Staples Center). But there are no two arenas as close as New York City’s Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which are about 5 miles from each other.
And thanks to a gift from the NBA’s scheduling gods, Sunday offered the rare chance to take in two NBA games, in person, in the same city. The Knicks hosted the Hawks at noon, and then the Nets hosted the Trail Blazers at 3:30 p.m. Thanks to the no. 2 subway train, I had only about a 20 minute commute under the East River from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
It was as close as I’ll ever come to participating in the New York Marathon. I saw one kinda close game, one blowout, and Plumlees everywhere.
For me, all day was all ball, as you can see from my tweets below…
I'm going to be attending both the @ATLHawks/@nyknicks and @trailblazers/@BrooklynNets games today. Follow along using #nbanyc!
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Anyone else trying to attend both halves of the #NBANYC doubleheader?
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
It's so cold today in NYC that even the subway rats slept in #nbanyc pic.twitter.com/xv087NHbaJ
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
The World's Most Famous Arena #nbanyc pic.twitter.com/ZtAQujNbkF
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Road teams are playing well, although both had a night off in NYC last night w/ early starts today #nbanyc https://t.co/du0jGkfIph
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Sunday brunch with a view #nbanyc pic.twitter.com/ftvRggUCjg
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
National anthem at MSG performed by @MadisonBeer, who is kind of a big deal #nbanyc
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Tipoff at MSG. #nbanyc pic.twitter.com/U29FObzzRK
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
I like the mismatched top/bottoms b/c they remind me of my high school uniforms #nbanyc https://t.co/KywDDoOGg1
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Melo's banked-in buzzer-beater gives the Knicks a 24-20 lead after 1. Only 7 more quarters of basketball to go! #nbanyc
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Kent Bazemore just got t'd up. As @talkhoops would say, he's not gonna baze less #nbanyc
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Halftime at MSG, where Knicks lead the Hawks 46-41. Porzingis has 14p6r for Knicks, Dwight has 11p10r for Hawks #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Kyle Korver does same thing as Steph Curry, chewing on mouthpiece as it hangs out halfway. Maybe that's the secret to shooting? #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Hawks have no answer for @carmeloanthony, who has 23 through 3. Heading into 4th, Knicks lead Hawks, 75-66 #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Yooo, Knicks legend and my main man @BaronDavis is here! #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Final from MSG, where Knicks beat Hawks 104-94, behind 31 from Melo #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Making quick stop in Hawks locker room, then heading to Brooklyn #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
"Lot of credit to them…Carmelo had a great game." #NBANYC pic.twitter.com/6yVKZZDryd
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Brooklyn here I come! #NBANYC pic.twitter.com/0ym0egWYhW
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Hey Brooklyn! #NBANYC pic.twitter.com/oyWxlhhL6T
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Made it to Barclays with 10 mins to spare #NBANYC pic.twitter.com/sqSfRClA33
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Game 2 on the day for me!! #NBANYC pic.twitter.com/EDpzX1aQpM
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Just realized I'm watching my second Plumlee of the day #blessed #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Lillard and McCollum are having their Thanksgiving feast early today in Brooklyn. Combined for 15 pts early. Blazers up 19-17. #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
After 1 in Brooklyn, Blazers lead the Nets, 32-29. Lillard leads everyone w/ 10 pts #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Looks like this game is shaping up to be the Bojan Bogdanovic (12 pts) showcase many were predicting #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Halftime in Brooklyn, where Portland leads 70-64. I'm just rooting for either team to get to 150. #NBANYC
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
POPCORN YOU THE REAL MVP #NBANYC pic.twitter.com/bEF4LQGHjS
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Three quarters done in Brooklyn, and Blazers lead 99-84. One quarter left in my #NBANYC hoops marathon!
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Portland beats Brooklyn, 129-109, behind 33 pts from @CJMcCollum. And this ends my #NBANYC marathon! Thanks for coming along for the ride!
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Also, I'll be on @NBATV around 7:45 to talk about my great #NBANYC adventure
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) November 20, 2016
Lang Whitaker has covered the NBA since 1998. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here or follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
