When the Nets needed a spark Saturday night, amid all the fanfare of their first regular-season game at the sparkling new Barclays Center, they were not picked up by the crowd or their superstars or some historical motivation.
Instead, coach Avery Johnson looked down his bench, and led by reserve guard C.J. Watson and hard-nosed forward Reggie Evans, the Nets ran away with the second quarter en route to a 107-100 win over the Raptors.
“It’s all part of bringing energy and being aggressive,” said Evans, who was voted the third-toughest player in the league in a preseason poll of NBA general managers and finished with 13 rebounds in 15 minutes. “It’s a good feeling.”
The Nets started the second quarter down 35-27, but stormed back when Watson scored 10 of his 15 points and Evans pulled down five rebounds in eight minutes. The Nets finished the frame up 60-52, a lead they were never relinquish.
“If we keep playing the defense you saw in the first quarter,” Johnson said, “we’re not going to beat anybody.”
The momentum-swinging second quarter was highlighted by a slick cross-court pass from Deron Williams to Watson, who watched as his 3-pointer from the wing swished through just before the backboard lit up at the end of the half.
“You got to have a different style of play coming off the bench,” Evans said. “You have to look out for the first team.”
With Williams having just two points in the first quarter and star forward Joe Johnson shooting 2-for-7, Watson was just the remedy for a team not wanting to let down its new hometown fans. He added a slick drive and finger roll with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Nets a four-point lead.
“Watson is going to be a big piece for them,” one veteran NBA scout said. “Playing with Deron, they can use [Williams] to run the baseline and post up, being a two-guard. Watson was a great addition.”
After starring at Tennessee for four years, the energetic Watson went undrafted in 2006 and played for a year in Italy and Greece. He was a D-League player in 2007, and eventually earned stints with the Warriors and Bulls.
The Bulls cut him in July, and after clearing waivers, he had some interested suitors able to offer more money than the Nets. But through a sales pitch by Johnson and Williams, Watson, now 28, chose to be a part of the inaugural season in Brooklyn as Williams’ backup.
“C.J. carried us offensively for a stretch in the first half,” Avery Johnson said. “Reggie Evans, he’s just all over the place on defense and he loves to rebound.”