You'd have a hard time drawing up a better script to the start of 2013 Playoffs for the Brooklyn Nets than their 106-89 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday Night.
"That's a hell of a performance," Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said after the game.
With a blackout in effect and Chalky White making a guest appearance in-between Uniqlo gigs, the "Brook-lyn" chants started during practice and wouldn't end until the Barclays Center emptied around 10:30pm. Even the National Anthem was a point of excitement, as Jerry Stackhouse took the mic and gave a stirring (and sexy?) rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner", which almost drew as many oohs and aahs as the three airballs he chucked up on his first three shot attempts. But that would be about the only thing to go wrong for the Nets on this night.
Chicago will be in trouble if they are to be without star point guard Derrick Rose and a healthy Joakim Noah for the entire series, as Brooklyn was able to create size mismatches all night. Early on, the game seemed poised for an all-night battle between Noah and Brook Lopez—who scored the first two points in Brooklyn playoff history—but Noah's absence for much of the game left a void the Nets exploited. In the second quarter alone, the Nets made 16 of the 20 shot attempts they took—many inside against the smaller Bulls.
"He hasn't practiced so he's going to be rusty," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "But I'd rather have him out there. Whatever he can give us is a plus,"
Riding Lopez's 19 first half points and the team's 20 defensive rebounds, the Nets opened up a 60-35 halftime lead they wouldn't relinquish, extending it to a 27-point advantage by the end of the third; 89-62. Noah started both halfs, but wouldn't finish either, ending with just over 13 minutes and only four points. With Noah out much of the game, Lopez and the crew of Nets big men dominated Carlos Boozer, who held his own with a deft outside game leading all scorers with 25, but couldn't keep up with Brooklyn on the glass.
By the time Deron Williams completed a reverse dunk with one-minute left in third, the crowd was on their feet, ready to celebrate a win in Brooklyn's first playoff game since Oct. 10, 1956, when the Yankees beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series at Ebbets Field.
"We expected to be here, so we came out playing like we wanted to be here," Williams said. "We were locked in today."
Williams finished with 22 points and 7 assists, leading six Nets players in double digits, including 14 by C.J. Watson and 12 by Andray Blatche off the bench. Reggie Evans led all players with 13 rebounds, grabbing 12 on the defensive end.
