The Nets would have been happy to forget all about the disastrous final two minutes of Monday’s 104-103 loss to the Raptors and begin preparing for Friday’s showdown with Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City.
But rather than moving on, Nets coach Jason Kidd had his players sit through video of those final two minutes and see just how they threw away a chance to move within a half-game of the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.
“It was very rough,” Joe Johnson said. “Considering the fact we had the game in hand … we were in control, and we had some mishaps that we haven’t had in quite some time.
“It’s very discouraging, and it hurt. It honestly did. It hurt, because we knew the significance of this game. Obviously you could tell they knew it by how they celebrated afterwards.”
No one was more frustrated about the final moments of the game than Deron Williams, whose poor pass to Johnson was picked off by Raptors forward Patrick Patterson, leading to Patterson’s game-winning jumper with six seconds left.
After getting a chance to look at the final moments again, Williams saw several things he could have done differently.
“First of all, looking back, don’t throw it [towards their basket],” he said. “Throw it to this end. If we turn it over here, we still have time to get back and set up. … Looking back, you can always look back after the fact and say, ‘I should’ve gone here, I should’ve gone there.’
“It’s definitely not fun [watching it], but you’ve got to learn. You’ve got to learn from your mistakes, so you’ve got to watch it.”
Seattle native and Seahawks fan Jason Terry has said he’s not going to the Super Bowl, but he will get his mother, a diehard Seahawks fan herself, a ticket to the festivities.
Johnson, on the other hand, said he’s considering making it over to MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
“I don’t know if I’ll get to go to another Super Bowl,” said Johnson, who grew up a Cowboys fan in Arkansas. “The fact it’s in our backyard now … I might just take that chance.”
Just don’t expect Johnson to buy a ticket to sit outside.
“I’ll be in a suite, though,” he said with a smile. “I’m not going to be in the cold.”
Williams, another big football fan, said he has no interest in going to the game, preferring to stay home and watch on television. He said he would have felt the same way if the Steelers — his favorite team — were playing in the game.
“It’s too cold, traffic, I don’t want to miss the commercials,” he said. “I’ve never been to a Super Bowl, but I like watching. I like watching at home, anyways, better than games, [just for] the whole production. But the Super Bowl is, for me, I think better to watch at home.”
Andrei Kirilenko sat out of practice with a sore right calf, saying it wasn’t anything serious and he want to take precautions.
Kirilenko, who has missed 26 games this season with back spasms, said he’s feeling fine otherwise and has had no recent issues with his back.