Today’s Brooklyn Nets news features notes from last night’s win, along with some postgame quotes.
The Brooklyn Nets improved to 3-0 in the NBA preseason last night, and won their second straight game against the New York Knicks.
Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell are finally starting to mesh, while the Nets bench is proving depth Kenny Atkinson promised.
Russell lead the way for Brooklyn, with team-highs of 16 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
Check out this no-look pass, courtesy of Nicholas LeTourneau of Nets Daily.
Allen Crabbe made his Nets debut last night, after spraining his ankle in training camp. He looked just fine through only 11 minutes of play time. Crabbe scored 14 points on 3-4 shooting from deep.
On how he prepared for the game, he says coach Kenny Atkinson is to credit. (via Brian Lewis of the New York Post.)
“It’s a different feel here, when coach is telling you to do more, to shoot more. It’s like the ultimate green light, so I’m out there just playing basketball freely, not thinking about anything, just letting the game come to me.”
Teammate Jeremy Lin had only good things to say about the newly acquired Crabbe, and his first game with the team.
“If he could do that every game, please Allen do that every game. That was amazing.”
It almost seems as if Crabbe should be able to fulfill Lin’s request, as he scored 11 of his 14 in only six minutes of the first quarter.
It was the Nets’ best defensive match of the preseason thus far. In total they tallied 13 steals, and turned 25 Knicks’ turnovers into 35 points.
Lin acknowledged the defensive prowess his team displayed, among other things after the game (per Brian Lewis of the New York Post).
“I feel like we’re playing the right way. We played a great defensive game, had a ton of assists and we moved the ball.”
Russell said last night’s performance bodes well for Brooklyn’s next season.
“I think everybody was just trying to take pride into it — trying to play team defense and then, at the end of the day, still guard your man individually. So if we can sustain that, I think it will be good.”
It was head coach Kenny Atkinson who credited the win to the team’s defensive effort.
“That really started the ball rolling. Great activity, a lot of deflections, steals, high energy defensively, making some shots.”
Offensively speaking, the Brooklyn Nets have now outscored their opponents by 63 points through three games.
They have found a rhythm on both sides of the ball, which will hopefully carry into the regular season.
In their final preseason match, Brooklyn will host the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on Wednesday at 7:30 PM EST.