• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

May 1, 2015, Queens, NY  You don’t usually win or lose because of one player but Darn, Deron, you’ve got to give as much as you receive (which is $19, 754,465 this season and $21,042,800 next season), or at least somewhere in the vicinity.  That also goes for you, Joe Johnson, who got paid $23,180,790 this season and gets 24,894,863 next season.  Alan Anderson is the “real steal” at $1,276,061 this season with a player option for next season at $1,333,484.  He will definitely test the market and get a hefty raise.

But the lead was just buried.  The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Atlanta Hawks in game six at Barclays Center in a blowout loss of 111-87.  The Nets and Hawks outscored each other two quarters apiece, but it was the scoring deficits that accounted for the Hawks 24-point win.  The first quarter was somewhat competitive at the start, but the Hawks took an 11-6 lead and closed the quarter on a 7-3 run to go up, 36-23.  In the second quarter, the Nets came back and cut the lead to six by halftime, 51-45, outscoring the Hawks 22-15.  Then came the third quarter that proved to be the death knell for the Nets.  The Hawks scored 15 consecutive points and blew the game open, 74-48, on a Kyle Korver three-pointer with 6:39 left in the quarter.  The Nets found themselves down 92-66 entering the fourth quarter, and at that point, the only intrigue regarding the score would be if the Nets would lose by 30+, 20+, or 10+ points.  The Nets outscored the Hawks in what would be their final quarter of the 2014-2015 season, 21-19, but that was far too little and far too late.

Brook Lopez, who probably played his last game in a Nets uniform, score 19 points on 7/15 shooting, and grabbed 7 rebounds.  Darn, I mean Deron Williams scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, had 4 assists, and 4 turnovers in 27 minutes of action.  Joe Johnson shot 5 for 13 from the field for 13 points, and Jarrett Jack added 11.  Bojan Bogdanovic went 2 for 9 scoring 8 points, and Alan Anderson ended up with 6 points on 2 for 10 shooting.

Paul Millsap led a balanced scoring attack for the Hawks with 25 points (plus 9 rebounds and 6 assists) along with Kyle Korver’s 20 points (6/10 3-point shooting).  DeMarre Carroll scored 20 points in 24 minutes of play on 7/8 shooting, and Al Horford contributed 18 points.  Jeff Teague laid a goose egg in the scoring column, but he dished out 13 assists (one turnover), to go with 2 steals and 1 block in 24 minutes.

While the Nets won a paltry 38 games in the “Least-ern” Conference, their playoff run can not be considered a disappointment.  They extended the series to six games when conventional wisdom predicted the Hawks would sweep them.  Now, it’s up to GM Billy King to make some moves so the 2015-2016 begins with a feeling of optimism rather than despair.

Professor Clifford Benton can be reached at cliffb@puresportsny.com.

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.