The Nets spent the past several months waiting for this first season in Brooklyn to get under way.
And now that it finally has, after the Nets picked up a 107-100 victory over the Raptors for their first win in their first game inside the brand-new Barclays Center, they are happy to simply be focused on playing basketball, as opposed to making history.
“It has been 10 days since we played a game, so we’re just happy to get out here and play against somebody else,” said Deron Williams after Saturday’s win. “That was the biggest thing, to kind of get a rhythm back.
“A lot of guys were winded out there, just because you can’t really simulate a game. You can scrimmage all you want, but it’s not the same as playing against somebody else. It was definitely good to get back out on the court.”
The Nets return to their new home tonight to take on the Timberwolves and hope to stretch their record to 2-0 on their new court.
“It was huge to get this win and protect our home court,” MarShon Brooks said. “We have to represent Brooklyn. We fought hard to get this win.”
The people they represent now came out in force for Saturday’s game, even amid the turmoil that the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy unleashed on the city’s public transportation system — particularly in lower Manhattan, where the 11 subway lines that service Barclays Center all pass through. The Nets had few empty seats inside the sold-out building for Saturday’s opener, something that wasn’t lost on them after everything that has happened over the past week.
“You saw the crowd,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said. “Even under the circumstances, not only did we have a sellout, but they were into the game. They stood up for us for the starting lineup, they were chanting ‘Brook-lyn!’ for us all night … it was really special.
“I’m just honored to be a part of it. When you go back in history and look at this game, I’m glad that I was one of the pieces that was a part of this.”
* With the Nets getting the day off yesterday, the status of small forward Gerald Wallace — who suffered a sprained left ankle late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win — for tonight’s game won’t be known until after the team’s shootaround at Barclays Center this morning.
If Wallace is unable to go, that would likely mean that Johnson would turn to one of his two reserve guards, Brooks or C.J. Watson, to replace Wallace in the lineup and slide Joe Johnson to small forward.
Wallace’s backup, Josh Childress, also has been dealing with a sprained left ankle, and Avery Johnson said Saturday that Childress is unlikely to play tonight.
* As the city continues to recover from Sandy, the subway lines from lower Manhattan to Barclays Center continue to be restored. The 2, 3, 4, 5 and D all were back in operation last night, with the possibility of more coming back on line at some point today.