I know he didn’t play, but he wore orange spacesuit pants in the pregame locker room and that’s good enough for me.
Fun reverse slam in garbage time!
Looked solid once again coming off the bench and hit a few three-pointers in the fourth quarter when the game was out of hand.
He hit a three-pointer. Yes, Shaun Livingston hit a three-pointer, which basically tells you what you need to know about this game.
Started as the “true” center for the first time all season with Lopez out and Teletovic in the starting lineup, where he spent most of his last two seasons in Boston. Though overshadowed by Joe Johnson — and who wasn’t? — Garnett played as close to an ideal game as you’d like from the big man. He wasn’t explosive and didn’t tear the roof down, but he hit some midrange shots, set hard screens, ran the floor on transition plays, played stifling defense on the perimeter on Spencer Hawes, and threw a few brilliant passes out of the high post. I’m giving him an A not because he played some amazing game that he can’t replicate. I’m giving him an A because he played exactly the game the team needed from him, and it’s the kind of game he can replicate without just getting lucky and hitting a lot of shots.
Shot really well. I mean, everyone did, but him too. Was average defensively.
His ability to hit those three-pointers from the top of the key is bigger than you might think. Most of the league’s best three-point shooters are specialists, artists who perfect the craft of shooting from the wings and corners, because they’re higher-percentage looks. But Williams is such a good threat from the top of the key that he can both hit shots himself and create looks for Joe Johnson and his teammates all over the arc. Got really funky with the crossover in the first half — I’m not sure you can tell from the broadcast camera just how much space he creates with it when he’s in the open floor, but it’s a lot.
JOE JOHNSON DA GAWD. Hit eight threes in the third quarter, tying an NBA record. Scored 29 points in the third quarter, four short of the NBA record. Had 37 points through three quarters, his career-high in Brooklyn. Had ten three-pointers through three quarters, his career-high, period. I know this is the Philadelphia 76ers we’re talking about, but Johnson barely hit rim on his three-pointers, whether guarded or unguarded. Brilliant shooting performance. Just brilliant. Just the kind of shooting that makes you happy to watch basketball. Thank you, Joe Marcus Johnson. Thank you.
Has Andray Blatche ever had a quiet 20-point game? Because he just did that, and it’s the third straight game the big man’s scored at least 20 points.
With Brook Lopez sidelined, Teletovic earned the first start of his career tonight, and played well with the starters, hitting some three-pointers early and fighting for rebounds. It may not be a long-term solution, but he looked pretty good in a lineup with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Kevin Garnett as a floor spacer.
