Keith Bogans played just the final 28 seconds Saturday against the Raptors. But that didn’t stop coach Avery Johnson from inserting the veteran guard into the starting lineup for last night’s 107-96 loss to the Timberwolves in place of Gerald Wallace, who sat out with a sprained left ankle.
And it didn’t take long for Bogans, now in his 10th season, to make an impact on the game, as he immediately drained a 3-pointer to give the Nets their first points of the game and hit another one soon after that.
“It felt good,” said Bogans, who finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. “It felt good to have those shots fall. That’s what I do … I’m a spot-up 3-point shooter. That’s all I really work on. So I feel like every shot I take is going to go in.”
It was the latest milestone for Bogans on the road back from a devastating ankle injury he suffered on Feb. 5 against the Pistons, when he tore the deltoid ligament and fractured his left ankle, and he was happy to take another step forward in his recovery.
“Yeah, I feel good,” Bogans said. “But all that’s voided after the way we lost. But as far as the way I was playing, getting back in the flow of things, I felt good. It felt good to be out there.”
* Last night also marked the NBA debut of Hoboken native Tyshawn Taylor.
Taylor, the first of the three Nets second round picks in June’s draft, entered the game a minute into the second quarter for C.J. Watson.
“I was a little surprised, to be honest,” said Taylor, who finished with two points, an assist and a steal in 5:58. “But [Deron Williams] had picked up two early ones, so I definitely was ready. I just came in and tried to do exactly what he wanted and run the team.
“When I was in there, I thought we had a nice spurt defensively, and offensively we got some easy buckets … MarShon [Brooks] came in and played really well in that second unit with me. It felt good.”
Mirza Teletovic, whom the Nets signed to a three-year deal over the summer, also made his debut last night. He checked in with 7.3 seconds remaining in the second quarter, in what looked like a situation when the Nets would try to get the 3-point shooter an open look.
That’s exactly what happened, as Teletovic inbounded the ball to Deron Williams, trailed the play and drained a wide-open 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining in the half.
Teletovic, who added a dunk in the third quarter, finished with five points.