There’s no place like home for the Nets.
With their 104-99 win over the Bobcats Wednesday, the Nets upped their home winning streak to 10 games, giving them the longest active home winning streak in the NBA. They also became the third team — along with the Thunder and Pacers, who did it twice earlier this season — to win 10 or more games in a row in its own building.
“We’re playing well,” said Shaun Livingston, who finished with 17 points. “We’re really not trying to focus on any streaks. … It’s all about one game at a time.”
It’s the longest home winning streak for the Nets since current coach Jason Kidd was the team’s point guard in 2006, when the team won 12 straight at home. The Nets, who are 16-2 at home in 2014, haven’t lost in Brooklyn since being beaten by Oklahoma City on Jan. 31 — two days before the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium.
The Nets play host Friday night to the Celtics, one of the two teams to beat them in March.
“We’re definitely confident at home,” Deron Williams said. “We’ve won 10 straight, so there’s definitely some confidence there, and we want to keep it going.
“We owe Boston. … We definitely have to be ready to play.”
Andrei Kirilenko played 12 minutes after being listed as a game-time decision with a bruised left big toe he suffered in Monday’s win over Phoenix.
After missing 26 of the first 30 games of the season with back spasms, Kirilenko has been a big part of the team’s turnaround in 2014, doing all of the little things off the bench that were the reason his signing was met with such fanfare last July.
Since returning, Kirilenko has missed just five games — three for a calf injury and two last week for a sprained ankle — while averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
As always is the case in April, the Nets will have several games shifted off of the YES Network to make way for Yankees’ regular season action.
YES announced five games, beginning with the Nets’ game against the Knicks on April 2, will instead be aired on My9. The other games are Nets-Pistons on April 4, Nets-Magic on April 9, Nets-Hawks on April 11 and Nets-Cavaliers on April 16.