The Nets dropped their opener against the Timberwolves 127-126 in overtime, but really blew two golden opportunities to win it in regulation.
With the score knotted at 115-all, Kyrie Irving — on his way to a 50-point masterpiece — got free in the lane, sucked in the defense and dished off to Jarrett Allen. The center got fouled, but missed both free throws with five seconds left.
“I don’t think it’s mental or mechanics, it’s just two shots I missed,” Allen said. “[I shoot] 70 percent; luck wasn’t on my side.”
Then Taurean Prince got the offensive rebound, but got blocked by Karl-Anthony Towns amidst heavy contact.
“It was definitely a foul,” Prince said. “But I know definitely for a fact they don’t call those at the end of the game, so I didn’t complain about it. It was a good play by them.”
Irving notched only the seventh 50-point game in Nets history.
He also set an NBA record for the most points in a debut with any team. The mark had been 47 by Kiki Vandeweghe for the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 27, 1984, at the Kansas City Kings.
Coachspeak maintains that nobody reads their press clippings. But Kenny Atkinson doesn’t ascribe to Crash Davis’ School of Cliches.
He’s not only read some of the less enthusiastic national projections for the Nets, but shared them with his players.
“I see FiveThirtyEight had us at 38 wins or 39 wins. The other one, Basketball Reference, got us at 36 wins. [The Post] had, I don’t know,” Atkinson said. “So to me there’s a lot of low expectations. I told the guys we have to … people are saying we’re not going to be as good as last year. To be determined.”
Brooklyn inked 6-foot-7, 210-pound wing Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot to a two-way contract. He played three NBA seasons with the Bulls (2019), Thunder (2018-19) and Sixers (2016-18), averaging 5.7 points in 15.6 minutes over 171 career games.
GM Sean Marks went on WFAN, and again offered several disclaimers while discussing the possibility of Kevin Durant returning this season: “There are no expectations that he will play this year. As it stands now, he is not playing this year.”