Here’s a roundup of last night’s Brooklyn Nets festivities:
What happened: The Nets used a dominant first half as a springboard to a much-needed victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, 93-81. Mason Plumlee stole the athletic show from Anthony Davis, finishing the evening with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting (six dunks!), 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks. The Nets staved off a second-half surge by the Pelicans thanks to solid play by the bench.
After an average first half, Davis lit up in the second, missing only one attempt and finishing with 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting.
Where they stand: The Nets are now 23-26, good for seventh in the East, yet only two-and-a-half games back of third-place Toronto at 26-24. The Charlotte Bobcats are two games back of the Nets.
That was … Briefly nerve-racking. The Nets had a historically good defensive performance in the first half, holding the Pelicans to just 28 points in their best effort since 2005. The Pelicans hit their stride in the third quarter behind Davis and a weird-haired Luke Babbitt, cutting the lead to single digits before Brooklyn fended them off in the fourth quarter.
Mason Plumlee was … REALLY GOOD. So good that the YES Network’s Nancy Newman shouted out The Brooklyn Game in calling him Mason “Dunklee” for, well, his dunks in this particular game.
Does Plumlee deserve more time in the rotation? Well, you have to ask yourself whether Andray Blatche deserves less time in the rotation. I don’t think that’s the case. So where do the minutes come from for Plumlee? I heard Alan Anderson wants Plumlee benched altogether …
Poor Alan.
Did Tyreke Evans play? No.
Is it an internal matter? Yes.
Just Bench Things: The bench scored 59 of the Nets’ 93 points, and no starter scored in double digits. No starter played more than 25 minutes, either. Kevin Garnett played 13 minutes, for which he really must have needed the night off on Saturday? The Is-Dan-Bitter-That-The-Nets-Lost-Because-Garnett-Rested-on-Friday-To-Play-13-Minutes-on-Sunday Gauge: It’s reading about a 9.9 out of 10 right now.
Just Kirilenko Things:
Admit it: Shaun Livingston and Alexis Ajinca look pretty darn similar when you’re watching them on TV.
#JasonTerryIsNotVeryGoodAtTheBasketball: We miss you, Brook Lopez. Terry was 0-of-5 from the field and 3, but he did do this for some reason.
Also, I can’t be the only one who was absolutely enchanted by the vicious way that Mike Tirico yelled “JAAAAAAAAAAAAAMESSSS” when he completely detonated on Terry last year. So I made a crude Vine through which you can relive that moment … over and over again. The answer you’ve been waiting for: No, unfortunately, the BrooklyKnight and Pierre The Pelican did not have a fight to the bloody, merciless death, which would have spared us an eternity of pain and suffering. Have the Nets climbed far enough ahead of the Knicks for Dolan to fire Woodson yet? The Nets are 23-26, the Knicks are 20-31, and Mike Woodson still has a job.
Next up: The Nets have two days off before hosting the Eastern Conference juggernaut Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday.
The Nets are 10-1 at home when Andrei Kirilenko plays.
