Practice makes perfect for Nets: Brooklyn stuns league-leading OKC in benchmark road win
Practice? You talkin’ about practice?
Who knew that a hard one-hour workout, coupled with some harsh words from new head coach P.J. Carlesimo, would spur the Brooklyn Nets to their most significant win in over a month? Certainly not future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, who infamously downplayed the importance of between-game drills during a press conference for the ages more than a decade ago.
After posting a pair of much-needed home victories over Eastern Conference bottom-feeders Charlotte and Cleveland at the Barclays Center last weekend, the Carlesimo-led Nets suffered a humiliating 31-point loss in San Antonio on New Year’s Eve to cap the “December to Forget” that ultimately cost Avery Johnson his job.
With a day off before taking on the league-leading defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn’s new leader decided to push his players extra hard during a brief but effective practice Tuesday. The result: a 110-93 triumph over Kevin Durant and the Thunder before 18,203 fans at the Chesapeake Energy Center.