Jeremy Lin Dazzles In Barclays Center Debut As Brooklyn Nets Drop Pacers
Noah K. Murray, USATSI

In his Barclays Center debut, Jeremy Lin was fantastic and nearly triple-doubled on one of the East’s best teams.

Whether the braids helped his performance or not, Jeremy Lin brought life back to a fanbase that has been lacking for the last couple of seasons.

In his first game in the Barclays Center as a member of the Nets, Lin totaled 21 points, nine assists, and nine boards as Brooklyn edged out Indiana 103-94.

Hopefully Lin’s superstitious and he’ll keep the braids as long as the Nets keep winning.

As expected, he manipulated the Pacers’ defenders out of the pick-and-roll, drawing at least two and getting into the lane on nearly every drive. From there, he had his choice. Sometimes he’d dish to Brook Lopez or Trevor Booker, or sometimes he’d elect to take it himself, either pump faking and drawing a foul or just going straight up for the deuce.

Lin’s scoring was spread out over the course of the game, with 12 of his 21 coming in the first half. By night’s end, he connected on six of his 12 attempts and became well-acquainted with the free throw line after eight visits, resulting in seven makes.

Furthermore, he looked locked in defensively and was disruptive without fouling (just one in 34 minutes), along with making smart decisions with the ball on offense (only two turnovers). Those two — fouls and turnovers — have been areas where Lin has struggled throughout his career.

As tremendous a performance as he had, Lin had plenty of help from guys around him. The biggest was Lopez, who was the beneficiary of multiple pocket and post entry passes. He finished as the game’s leading scorer with 25 points on 10/18 shooting.

Booker, who had a decent night offensively, made his presence felt most on the boards. His 11 helped Brooklyn out-rebound Indiana 52-49 — that, by far, is the most interesting stat from Friday night.

I’d be remiss not to touch on Sean Kilpatrick‘s evening. In 25 minutes off the bench, Kilpatrick poured in 18 points on 7/11 shooting, which included a perfect 4/4 from three-point range. His offensive contribution to the team is what’s expected most from him heading into his first full season, and he certainly left his mark late in the game.

With time waning in the fourth quarter, Kilpatrick took the Nets’ lead from three to nine by sinking deep threes on back-to-back possessions.

In addition to his scoring, he chipped in five boards, but his astronomical plus/minus of +25 is the most glaring indicator of his production.

Brooklyn now sits at 1-1 on the year and has more wins at home than the Golden State Warriors. Their next game is Saturday night at 8:00 PM EST against the Bucks in Milwaukee.

I'm obsessed with basketball. I play (my hesi pull-up Jimbo is cash), I write and cover the Nets here at ESNY. My work has been seen on Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated and FanSided. I also run my company, TBN Media. My favorite NBA player is Isaiah Thomas because I can look him in the eye.