New-Look New Jersey Nets win season-opener against Detroit Pistons
After finishing last season with a franchise-worst 12-70 record, the revamped New Jersey Nets started the season on a bright note, when they escaped with a 101-98 win over the Detroit Pistons
in their season-opener, Wednesday 27 Oct in Newark.
Anthony Morrow, who was acquired by the Nets from the Golden State Warriors for a future second-round pick, hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in the game, giving Russian owner
Mikhail Prokhorov and head coach Avery Johnson a winning debut.
"Nothing is really perfect but this was a beautiful ending," Johnson said. "If this was a movie, for a team coming out of a situation we were coming out of, for a new team coming together,
it's a beautiful ending."
Brook Lopez had a rousing debut as the rising star racked up 25 points and nine rebounds, while Devin Harris scored 22 points and dished out nine assists for the Nets, who started last season
with an NBA-worst 18-game losing streak.
The third-overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, Derrick Favors, tallied eight points and 10 rebounds in his professional debut, while Jordan Farmar and Terrence Williams scored 10 points apiece
in their first game at the Prudential Center, the team’s new arena.
"We're moving forward," Harris said. "I don't like references to last year. It's forgotten about. This is about this team showing what we can do when we do things right."
The Nets, who added 11 new players to their 15-man roster, unleashed a 13-3 blast in the final 1:40 of the game including Morrow’s three-point dagger, which gave the Nets a 97-95 lead.
The Pistons had a chance to tie the game, but Charlie Villanueva missed a three-point attempt with two seconds left, followed by a desperation heave from Rodney Stuckey at the buzzer.
"This is definitely one of those games we just couldn't finish," Villanueva said. "We were up seven with 1:40 to go and we pretty much had the game won. We had to win that game. We just didn't
do the things down the stretch to win that game."
Stuckey paced the Pistons with his 14 points and seven assists, while Villanueva and Tayshaun Prince also chipped in 14 points apiece.
Meanwhile, NBA commissioner David Stern announced before the game that the league will hold next year’s draft at the Prudential Center. Madison Square Garden, which was the draft’s venue
since 2001, is scheduled to undergo renovations over the next three years.
"The fact that MSG wasn't available gave us the opportunity to begin talking to a lot of other cities and I think it may have changed our perspective," Stern said.
Stern also clarified that he’s not sure if the NBA draft will return to MSG once the renovations are completed.
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