NO COOL JOE ON EJECTION
IN 1,080 NBA games since 2001, Joe Johnson had never been ejected until Friday night’s debacle for the Nets at Madison Square Garden.
Johnson was sent off court with a type 2 flagrant foul after elbowing Knicks point guard Jose Calderon in the face with eight minutes left in the Knicks’ 10891 dismantling of the Nets, who dropped to 5-14.
“I’ve never been ejected from a game,” said Johnson, amid the gloom of the visiting team locker room. “I don’t have no history of being a dirty player or anything of that sort. I don’t have to comment on it, honestly.”
Johnson delivered the blow to Calderon in the corner between the Knicks bench and multiple defenders, leading officials to pause for a video review after which Johnson was issued a flagrant 2, which NBA rules define as “unnecessary and excessive contact.”
Calderon hit one of the two free throws he was awarded for suffering the foul.
“The ball got hit, and when I went to recover it I tried to protect it, and the rest is history,’ said Johnson, who was limited to nine points in 31 minutes and 43 seconds of play before his early trip to the locker room.
Nets coach Lionel Hollins, who conceded the night had been a disaster for his team, said had little to say about Johnson’s ejection.
“They made the call, and that’s what it is,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”
SIBLING RIVALRY
Brook and Robin Lopez faced off for the first time since the identical twin centers took up spots on New York’s two pro teams. Deborah Ledford, mother to the 27-year-old duo, was in attendance, wearing gear from each team.
“It was a little different than before,” said Robin, who joined the Knicks with a four-year deal in July. “The past couple of seasons it’s been the same thing, the same old bag, but tonight with the Brooklyn-versus-New York thing going on it felt new. It felt rejuvenated, it was a lot of fun. … Brook and I never talked on the court once.”
A NEW REED
Rookie center Willie Reed made his NBA debut with the Nets on Friday, scoring eight points in nearly 11 minutes of fourth-quarter play.
A 25-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., he had bounced between D-League teams and played in the Dominican Republic before signing a one-year contract with the Nets over the summer. A thumb injury in the preseason kept him sidelined until Friday, when his first NBA points came from a slam dunk.
BACK AT GARDEN
Shane Larkin, who has provided some sparks for the Nets off the bench, had six points in his first trip back to the Garden after spending last season with the Knicks. “It’s always good to play in the Garden, it was a great time playing here,” Larkin said before the game. “The fans, even though we didn’t have a good season, came out. Other than the time they put the bags over their face they were cheering for us, loud, every single night, supporting. The Knick fans are ride or die.”
LIONEL’S IDOL
Before he became an All-Star point guard with the Blazers and coach of the Nets, Hollins used to hang a poster of Clyde Frazier above his bed in his Arizona State dorm. But when he finally got to compete against Frazier in the NBA, Hollins decided against telling his idol about the poster.
“He didn’t need to hear that,” Hollins joked about the Hall of Fame player who is a Knick analyst on MSG Network. “His ego was big enough.”
Hollins’ anecdote followed a question about Nets rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who, over a five-game stretch, had to match up against LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
“You idolize these guys and then you get to the point where you eventually have to compete against them,” said Hollins, whose 10-year NBA playing career started in 1975. “One of my first memories was right here in New York having Clyde Frazier on one side and Earl Monroe on the other and they’re patting me on the butt and my knees were shaking.”
— Stefan Bondy