On the night Paul Pierce eclipsed 25,000 points in his career, he once again managed to take down the Knicks.
Pierce, who drained a 3-pointer in the second quarter to become the 18th player in NBA history to reach the milestone, missed three free throws and two 3-pointers that could have either tied the game or given the Nets the lead in the fourth quarter — one reason the Hawks were able to come away with a 93-88 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center.
It was the latest time Pierce has haunted the Knicks through his Hall of Fame career. While the loss snapped a 15-game home winning streak for the Nets (43-36), the Hawks’ win moved the Knicks within either a loss or an Atlanta victory of being eliminated from the playoff race.
“We’re trying to win every game,” said Pierce, who finished with 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting. “We really kicked ourselves tonight.”
I think this game was really about what we did. We didn’t execute properly, missed box-outs and most importantly free throws.
“A lot of these playoff games, they’re going to come down to free throws. There’s going to be a lot of close games and we’ve got to do a better job, especially me.”
The Nets finished the game 14-for-25 from the free throw line, including 4-for-9 in the fourth quarter. All five of those misses came from Pierce (1-for-4) and Kevin Garnett (0-for-2) as the Nets failed to take advantage of the pitiful Hawks (36-43) on a night Deron Williams (right patella tendinitis), Shaun Livingston (sprained right big toe) and Alan Anderson (sore abdominal muscle) all sat out, resting for the playoffs.
“The guys fought,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said. “We had an opportunity, but we missed some shots down the stretch. We guarded the 3 very well but, again, we had opportunities at the free throw line, and then we had some good looks at the end.”
The loss for the Nets officially meant both the Bulls, who moved into third place in the Eastern Conference, and the Raptors, who are in fourth and clinched the Atlantic Division title, will begin the first round of the playoffs next weekend at home.
And with the Nets all but locked into the fifth seed — their magic number to clinch that spot remained at two because the Wizards won, while the magic number to clinch finishing no lower than sixth dropped to one because the Bobcats lost to the Celtics — the story of the night was Pierce becoming the fourth active player to reach 25,000, joining Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant.
“It’s better to be in the championship club, obviously,” he said with a smile. “Statistical things, they come and go.
“There’s going to be players in the future that pass me, but you know when you win … that lasts forever. It’s great being part of history.” … [it’s] just a testament to my hard work and consistency over the years, and good health.”
For Garnett, it was a moment to share with his longtime friend and teammate. Their friendship not only extends back to the summer of 2007, when they became teammates for the first time when Garnett was dealt to the Celtics, but all the way back to the 1995 McDonald’s All-American Game, in which both of them played.
“I told him, ‘Welcome to the neighborhood,’ ” Garnett said with a smile. “[Paul’s] been a big part of this league. It’s kind of dope to see one of your great friends, best friends reach some accomplishments together.
“We’ve done some things together, but tonight was all about him. I’m proud of him, and happy for him.”