NBA

Jackson back in Brooklyn as Warriors coach

‘HOME’ GAME: Mark Jackson, who was born in Brooklyn and attended the borough’s Bishop Loughlin High School before starring at St. John’s and with the Knicks (inset), made his first trip to Barclays Center last night, coaching the Warriors past the Nets. (Paul J. Bereswill, Charles Wenzelberg)

Mark Jackson may have left Brooklyn, but Brooklyn never left him.

The Warriors coach got a rare, front-row reminder before last night’s 109-102 win over the Nets, driving to the Barclays Center for the first time. Jackson, who went to Bishop Loughlin High School only a few blocks away, was flooded with emotion, remembering a time when the NBA was just a dream and a franchise in Brooklyn was a fantasy.

“It’s great to be back,” Jackson said. “It really hit me as we were a couple blocks away. There’s a McDonald’s that we used to go to after every home game in high school. We drove past it and just brought back some great memories.

“You couldn’t imagine this being here as a kid growing up. You just couldn’t imagine it. It’s a big deal.”

The St. John’s star and two-time Knicks guard was born in East New York and lived in the borough until he moved to Queens before he turned eight, but before finishing third on the NBA’s all-time assists list, Jackson looked across the East River for inspiration.

With a smile on his face, Jackson beamed with pride, knowing the borough’s youth can now dream about Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, rather than the intersection he revered.

“I had to reach all the way to 34th Street and Earl Monroe,” Jackson said. “It’s easier for a kid in this area to dream. It makes it easier for a kid to visualize himself playing here one day. Driving by I saw the Nets shop, Brooklyn stuff all over, there’s a sense of pride. It makes a heck of a statement.”

Because of last season’s lockout, Jackson did not come to New York in his first season as a coach, but after the game he described the joy he felt seeing his mother, sister and niece in the stands.

He was somewhere he never had been and somewhere he thought he never would go — a place where reality superseded imagination.

“They did a spectacular job, absolutely spectacular,” Jackson said. “The Nets organization should be extremely proud, not just the impact they’ve made in this community, but worldwide. This is awfully impressive.”

Jackson was thrilled to be back, but downplayed the importance of winning in his hometown. Guard Stephen Curry, who scored 28 points, revealed what his coach reserved for his players.

“For him to come back and coach here, he talked about this being a dream of his and we just wanted to come out with effort to make that happen for him,” Curry said. “You could see he had so much passion after the game, you could tell how much this meant to him.”