As amazing as LeBron James was down the stretch last night, when he scored the Heat’s final 17 points in their 101-98 win over the Nets, the reaction from the sellout crowd at Newark’s Prudential Center may have been even more incredible.
The Heat were treated like the home team down the stretch, with the fans showering them with “Let’s Go Heat!” chants as James carried them to victory over a Nets team playing without Deron Williams.
“It was amazing, honestly,” James said after he finished with 37 points on 11-for-19 shooting. “I give a lot of thanks to all of the Heat fans that we have, and all the Nets fans that rooted for us, as well.
“Like I said at one point last year, I never thought I would hear, ‘Let’s Go Heat’ on someone else’s floor, so I’m happy to be part of it, and thanks to the fans. It was great.”
Nets coach Avery Johnson said his players were fired up for the playoff-like atmosphere inside the building, even if he did concede that it felt like an away game.
“I think the crowd, even though they are in favor of our opponents overall, have been active and into the games,” Johnson said. “For us, with us being a really good road game, our guys were up for this game.
“They were really excited, and I was excited for them .¤.¤. you could see the look in their eyes during the timeouts .¤.¤. they were really in the game.”
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Johnson decided to give both Gerald Green and Jordan Williams their first starts last night.
For Williams, it was the culmination of a season that began with conditioning issues during the Nets’ truncated training camp following the lockout led to a bout with dehydration. But Williams has come on over the second half of the season, including averaging over seven points and six rebounds in seven games in April entering last night’s action, and he finished with two points and four rebounds in 31:59.
“I think I played pretty well,” Williams said. “I didn’t really fill up the stat sheet, but I did the small things right. I made some defensive plays … I put myself in the right position. Sometimes shots don’t fall for you, and rebounds don’t fall your way, but it’s just the little things that help.”
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Deron Williams sat out of last night’s game with a sore right calf, an injury he picked up in Saturday’s home loss to the Celtics.
“I just think it’s just day-to-day,” Johnson said of Williams’ injury. “We’ll give you another report on him [today]. “We’ll treat him, and kind of see where we are for Wednesday [against the Knicks].”
Johnson added Gerald Wallace will be put through a workout today, to see if he’ll be able to go tomorrow night against the Knicks.