There was a time this season — actually, several times — when the Nets thought about sending Terrence Williams to the D-League.
There also was a time when folks thought the Earth was flat and those new fangled computer gizmos were a fad.
Well, flat or round, fad or staple, the Bulls wish the Nets had followed through on the Williams notion, which now seems ludicrous.
“Like five years,” Williams, who notched the first triple-double of his career — the first by a Net rookie in nine years — said of how long ago his struggles seem. “I feel like a vet, but I’m not. It feels like a long time ago. This season flew by fast.”
Well, a 12-victory campaign might not seem that fast, but the Nets ran their win total to a dozen, keeping the Bulls in a tie for the last Eastern playoff spot with Toronto. They rode Williams’ career high 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to a 127-116 double overtime victory at the Meadowlands.
Williams got his triple-double when Brook Lopez (26 points, 14 assists, follow dunk at :00.1 to force the first overtime) scored the final Nets basket of the game at with 17.6 seconds remaining. And yes, Williams was aware he needed one assist since the fourth quarter for his feat.
“Coming down the court, a fan told me, ‘You need one assist for a triple-double.’ My eyes lit up like, ‘How do they know it?’ ” Williams said. “I told my teammates, ‘I need one assist. I don’t care if you shoot it from halfcourt, just shoot it and make it.’ ”
They missed a bunch before the Lopez layup gave Williams the Nets’ first rookie triple double since Kenyon Martin on March 5, 2001.
“It means a lot,” said Williams, who has scored double figures in 17 of his last 20 games, averaging 14.2 in that stretch.
The word that has surfaced around Williams so frequently in recent weeks is “maturity,” and he demonstrated it in every way, running the point for much of the fourth quarter, when the Nets built their lead to double figures.
“Terrence was terrific,” general manager/interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “What I liked about it, though, it was a measured game. His maturity came through. He played good defense. He got a lot of rebounds. He distributed the ball well. Took good shots and got everybody else involved. This was a great team win.”
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Jarvis Hayes left the game in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle after playing 9:01.
“It’s sore,” said Hayes, who doubts he will play tonight in Indiana.