Brooklyn Nets Defeat Visiting Portland Trailblazers
The Lopez brothers, NBA centers and twin brothers, reunited at the Barclays Center squaring off in a game that was originally scheduled for January 26th. It snowed heavily in New York on January 26, and thus the game was postponed to April 6th. Brook Lopez had his way with twin brother Robin Lopez, scoring 32 points and pulling down 9 rebounds, validating his well-deserved Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.
On paper, the Trailblazers are the better team but given that they flew across country just for this one game, leaving behind some of their key players, including LaMarcus Aldridge, who is sidelined with a left thumb sprain, the Nets were able to take advantage of the jet-lagged, undermanned Trailblazers.
The Nets got off to a slow start but midway through the second quarter, they were fully in command, leading for a brief period by 20 or more points. Top scorer Joe Johnson was not his usual self, only scoring 6 points. In addition to Lopez’s 32 points, guard Deron Williams had 24 points and 10 assists, including 4 for 5 from 3 point range. Forward Thaddeus Young had 20 points and “Bogey” Bogdanovic added 15 points. Coached by Lionel Hollins, the Nets have begun to push to secure a spot in the upcoming playoffs after a not so great start to their season.
Some people call the newly built Barclays Center, situated squarely at the intersections of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, near the Atlantic Terminal Mall, an eye sore, but if you are fortunate enough to live in Brooklyn, Manhattan or Queens, it’s an easy subway ride to the new arena.
Word has it that the Lopez brothers dined at Mickey Dee’s after the game. There was little to no communication between the two on the court, with Robin scoring only 8 points. He left the scoring to his teammate, All-star Damian Lillard, but even Lillard’s 36 points were not enough to defeat the surging Nets, who sit in 7th place in the Eastern conference, a mere one game ahead of the encroaching 8th place Boston Celtics. Next on tap for the Nets are the conference leading Atlanta Hawks, the Washington Wizards and then the third place Chicago Bulls.
Attending a game at the Barclays Center is an exciting way to spend an evening in New York City. There are no bad seats in the arena—wherever you sit, you get a great view of the court. The Barclays Center also boasts an array of great food concessions, including Brooklyn’s own Junior’s cheesecake. With an All Access ticket, you get all you can eat with the price of your ticket. Not a bad way to spend a Monday night in beautiful, downtown Brooklyn, New York.
- My Dreamed Visit to Kenya Fulfilled - 10/10/2017
- The Complexions Contemporary Ballet Company – Review - 11/25/2015
- The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution - 09/23/2015