The Brooklyn Nets were looking to go a perfect 3-0 this season against the two time defending Champion, Miami Heat last night as they took the court at American Airlines Arena. Brooklyn would be without the services of big men, Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko. Two players the team believes must be at their disposal come playoff time if they’re going to make a significant run at the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
For one night at least, the absence of the two didn’t matter as Brooklyn stood toe to toe with Miami, emphatically declaring to everyone watching that they were for real. You see, since the turn of the calendar, Brooklyn holds the Eastern Conference’s best record at 22-9 including a, 1 point overtime victory over this same Miami team at Barclays Center. Perhaps the most impressive part of Brooklyn’s ascension up the standings has been its 7-1 record since suffering an embarrassing 44 point blowout loss at the hands of the Portland Trailblazers just a mere 2 weeks ago.
No longer are columns being written about Jason Kidd being in over his head or Lawrence Frank being relegated to writing daily reports. Now Kidd, for his part is being lauded as a potential Coach of the Year candidate but more importantly this recent stretch has the masses clamoring for a postseason showdown with Miami. Currently Brooklyn sits in 5th place but are only 1 ½ games behind Chicago for 4th and the coveted home court advantage in the 1st round.
Since his days with the Celtics, Paul Pierce has had his share of big moments versus LeBron James led teams. Last night was no different as “The Truth” stepped up and provided Brooklyn with leadership both in attitude & performance. Pierce scored 17 of his game high 29 points including 3 makes from behind the arc in the third quarter and it was more than needed on a night when fellow teammates Deron Williams & Joe Johnson combined to shoot 4-18 totaling only 14 points.
With time winding down in the 4th and the score even at 92, Pierce would deliver one more time, pump faking D. Wade out of his shoes and finishing strong at the rim. Williams would then hit a clutch step back jumper to put Brooklyn up 4 but Chris Bosh wouldn’t let the Heat go down without a fight as he connected on a conventional 3-point play. That would set up the game’s final possession with Bosh attempting to inbound a pass to James that wound up being broken up by Shaun Livingston and eventually stolen by Joe Johnson as time expired. Miami has now lost 4 of 5 following an 8 game winning streak. The two teams meet once more on April 8th in Miami, where Brooklyn will be going for the season sweep.
Final
Brooklyn 96 Miami 95
Wilson Caicedo: PureSportsNY