But the team did sign Kevin Love back on a two-year deal for $3.7 million — with the second year being a player option — and also brought back 2015 second-round draft pick Josh Richardson on a two-year deal, according to multiple reports.
Kevin Love has agreed to return to the Heat on a two-year Heat deal starting at $3.7 million, with the second year a player option.
Love was signed by the Heat in the buyout market last February and became the team’s starting power forward, averaging 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest in 21 regular season games.
He also averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest in 20 playoff appearances.
Kevin Love (42) looks on during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks on May 10, 2023 at Madison Square Garden. NBAE via Getty Images Josh Richardson, who played for the Pelicans last season, is back with the Heat.Getty Images
Richardson, who the Heat traded in the 2019 summer to land Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade, has since had stints with the 76ers, Mavericks, Celtics, Spurs and Pelicans.
Last season, he played 65 games between time with San Antonio and New Orleans, averaging 10.1 points per game and shooting 36.5 percent on 3-pointers.
Troubled Hollywood star Kevin Spacey smirked on his way into London’s criminal court Thursday morning as he entered a not-guilty plea connected to sex offenses leveled against him that date back almost 20 years.
The “House of Cards” star, 62, appeared in court over the sexual assault charges stemming from his time as an artistic director at a local theater between 2005 and 2013.
The scandal-scarred actor was charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The most serious accusation against him is a charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent when he allegedly forced a man to have oral sex.
The actor, appearing under his real name of Kevin Spacey Fowler, was asked to state his name and address before pleading “not guilty” at the hearing.
Spacey will sit trial on June 6, 2023.
In his first court appearance last month, his lawyer said Spacey “strenuously denied all allegations.”
Spacey, who was granted unconditional bail, could face life in prison if found guilty of the most serious offense. If convicted of sexual assault he could be slapped with a six-month prison sentence or an unlimited fine.
The two-time Oscar winner — known for starring in “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty” — was questioned by cops in 2019 about claims by several men who said he assaulted them during his time as the artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater between 2005 and 2013.
The alleged victims are all now in their 30s and 40s.
Kevin Spacey arrived at a London criminal court on Thursday morning.REUTERS
Four of the alleged incidents took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008, and one in Gloucestershire, England, in April 2013.
The actor — who came out as gay in 2017 — said he’s “confident” he will be able to prove his innocence in court.
The mounting allegations against the actor spun his once-successful career into chaos.
Spacey was dropped from the last season of “House of Cards” and taken out of the movie “All the Money in the World” once the allegations surfaced. REUTERS
LAS VEGAS — The uncertain status of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is hanging over the Nets’ offseason, with a chance both disgruntled stars could somehow still be with the team when training camp starts. But the young players on the roster don’t seem to be holding their breath.
The Nets are getting ready to tip off Las Vegas Summer League on Friday against the Bucks, with Durant’s trade demand dominating every headline. Talk to the young Nets who played with Durant and Irving last season, and they project more of an air of resignation to reality than any hope of running it back.
“Yeah, they were very helpful for me during the season. So whether I’m with them or not going forward, I think I’ll always remember the stuff that they taught me in my first year, and what all the vets told me,” Kessler Edwards said after practice Thursday. “So I’m glad I got to experience that in my first year. I’ll always keep that stuff with me.”
Edwards had said on Chris Carrino’s midweek podcast, “Voice of the Nets,” that both Durant and Irving had given him pregame pep talks that buoyed his confidence, and the second-year pro acknowledged that he might not have that feeling again.
Kyrie Irving, left, and Kevin DurantAP
“Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, those guys [gave me] a lot of confidence and they talked to me a lot before the games,” Edwards said on the podcast. “That’s a feeling I’ll probably never get again.”
Durant has kept a low profile since demanding a trade a week ago. The drama has held up free agency, dominating the back pages and airwaves and news cycle. But apparently not the day-to-day chatter of the Nets’ summer league roster.
“Yeah I’m just watching everything, too. We don’t really talk about it; just wait and see what happens,” Edwards said. “Just focused on this summer league.”
Perhaps more than any other Net, Cam Thomas — who led the summer league in scoring last year as a rookie to earn co-MVP honors — was taken under Durant’s wing. Underneath their humorous trash-talking was a mentor-mentee relationship, in which Durant and Irving took the offensively gifted guard under their respective wings.
Now Thomas seems fully aware he’s going to have to leave the nest. Or more accurately, the nest may be leaving him.
“Yeah, just him and Kyrie really, I connected with those two a lot. So those two are my brothers no matter what happens. I still call them or text them on something,” Thomas said. “So you know, it is what it is. It’s part of the business. Hopefully everything works out in our favor. But you’ve just got to move on with life. It is what it is.”
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But the bigger question is: Have Durant or Irving been texting him back?
Yahoo Sports and TNT sideline reporter Chris Haynes said on his “Posted Up” podcast that Durant had “gone dark,” not responding to other NBA stars who had been reaching out to him in the past week to touch base and gauge his interest in being traded to their teams.
In essence, Durant has largely gone underground.
“I texted him last week; that’s the last time I talked to him,” Thomas said. “I haven’t talked to him since, though.”
Adam Caporn — who was the Long Island Nets’ head coach and is being elevated to an assistant spot on Steve Nash’s staff — is coaching the Nets in the summer league. He said he hasn’t talked to his young players about the Durant-Irving melodrama, and claimed he has no intention of doing so.
While the entire NBA world is checking their alerts, watching the ticker on ESPN and hanging on every scrap of news, Thomas insisted he isn’t.
“No. But I mean, it is what it is. It’s part of the business,” Thomas said. “They have their decisions, they’ll make them. But I’m just focusing on summer league at this point.”
Jason Segel used to share a bathroom with Kevin Hart.
The pair of funnymen were roommates back in the day whiled shooting director Judd Apatow’s unseen TV pilot called “North Hollywood.”
Segel, 42, revealed during a recent chat on the on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” that Apatow, 54, compelled him and the “Think Like A Man” star to live together in an apartment in 2001.
“It was a strange time because we were all so young,” Segel said.
The “Knocked Up” actor added, “None of us had really had that much success yet, and Judd Apatow — in a weird move — made Kevin Hart live with me for like six months.”
Segel went on to note that Apatow thought “it would be good for the show” if the two lived together. (BTW: Segel and Hart’s leading ladies were set to be “Saturday Night Live” standout Amy Poehler and “Mad Men” star January Jones.)
“And I lived in a one-bedroom apartment,” he continued. “So, all of a sudden, Kevin Hart was living with me, and he’d be like, “Hey man, are you making breakfast? I want some, too.’”
The “How I Met Your Mother” alum also gushed over Hart’s work and said the “Central Intelligence” star is very attentive to his career.
“We would be out doing stuff, you know, being young dudes, and he would stay home and write and write and write. You would think like, ‘Oh, that’s cute,’” he stated. “And then, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s how you do it.’ That’s how someone ends up being Kevin Hart.”
Segel also starred in Paul Feig and Apatow’s 1999 cult classic series “Freaks and Geeks.” The coming-of-age NBC show only lasted one season, however, the filmmakers divulged last year there was a secret proposal to renew it for a second season.
But the plans never materialized and didn’t move forward back in the early 2000s.
Feig and Apatow told Collider in June 2021 that the dramedy was given the opportunity for another season with MTV, and not NBC.
The cast of “Freaks And Geeks.” From l-r: James Franco (as Daniel), Linda Cardellini (as Lindsay Weir, front, green jacket), Seth Rogen (as Ken Miller, plaid shirt), John Daley (as Sam Weir, front blue striped shirt), Martin Starr (as Bill Havenchuck, back wearing glasses) and Samm Levine (as Neal, far right).Getty Images
“When the show was canceled, there was an offer from MTV to continue making the show at a much lower budget,” Apatow said. “And we all decided we didn’t want to do a weaker version of the show.”
“I remember hearing that [MTV offered to pick us up],” Feig said. “We probably just had to lose so much stuff and music and budgets. We were already always strained on our budget as it was.”
The pair ultimately decided to not proceed with the idea. The “Bridesmaids” director added, “And then very quickly after the decisions were made, then you’re kind of like, ‘Oh my God, what did we do? Could we have pulled it off if we had done it?’”
Feig concluded with the sentiment that he doesn’t regret his choice to end the show. He also stands by the series finale episode that gave closure for the characters’ storylines.
After extended absences, Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney returned to the Rangers’ lineup just in time to help the club clinch a playoff berth with a 5-1 win Saturday night over the Senators.
The forwards were activated off injured reserve and will now have 10 regular-season contests to get back into game shape. Kakko was sidelined the previous 31 games with a suspected wrist injury. Rooney was also out with an undisclosed upper-body injury, missing 18 games.
While Rooney slotted back into his usual fourth-line center post between Dryden Hunt and Ryan Reaves, Kakko joined the third unit alongside Alexis Lafreniere and Barclay Goodrow, who lined up in the middle in place of an injured Filip Chytil. Rooney ultimately finished with two shots on goal and two hits in 15:27 in the victory.
Kakko had been playing on the right wing of the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad in the weeks leading up to his injury, but trade-deadline acquisition Frank Vatrano has found success in that spot.
Kaapo Kakko controls the puck against Erik Brannstrom during the Rangers’ 5-1 win over the Senators.USA TODAY Sports
Kakko, who didn’t register a single shot on goal in 13:01 Saturday, is also an option for the right-wing slot next to Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome on the second line. Another new addition, Andrew Copp, has been developing chemistry with the Bread-and-Butter duo.
“Each game that he’s been playing over the course that he’s been here with us, I think you’ve seen more confidence — better with the puck, better without the puck — and I think he works really hard,” Zibanejad said of Kakko. “That’s something that you can always control. You can’t always control the bounces and the puck luck and stuff like that, or if it goes in or not. But I think that’s the one thing that you can control, and I feel like he’s been he’s been getting that more and more.
“We’ve been talking about that with the other young guys, too, just becoming more of a pro and doing the little things that matter. That’s something I’ve been seeing from him. It’s not easy to be gone for that long, but I’m sure he’s excited to be back.”
In the 37 games he played before his injury, Kakko collected five goals and nine assists. Kakko could get a look in the top six again sometime over the final stretch of the regular season, but the Finnish winger has played a lot of minutes next to Lafreniere and could do well with the familiarity.
“He’s just grown,” coach Gerard Gallant said of Kakko. “He’s taken another step. He’s trying to be a man. He controls the puck, he’s good down low. We want him to score more and take another step there, but he’s been hurt for eight or nine weeks now. We’ll see where it goes. It might take him a little bit of time here, but I know he’s in good shape and he’s excited to play.”
Veteran defenseman Patrik Nemeth was scratched in favor of Justin Braun, who lined up alongside Braden Schneider on the third defensive pair. … Ryan Reaves drew back into the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch in the previous two games, replacing Jonny Brodzinski on the fourth line.
After all of the crazy variables that have defined — and threatened — their up-and-down season, the final task for the Nets is a simple one.
The Nets have the chance to seal the No. 7 play-in position in the Eastern Conference in their regular-season finale after pulling out a critical 118-107 win over the Cavaliers on Friday night at Barclays Center.
After Kevin Durant led the way with 36 points in 41 minutes to offset a poor shooting night by Kyrie Irving (7-for-22, 18 points), the Nets can clinch the seventh spot in the East with a win Sunday at home against the eliminated Pacers.
Bruce Brown had a stellar all-around game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four blocked shots, while Andre Drummond also recorded a double-double (15 points and 12 boards) in the Nets’ third straight victory.
The Nets (43-38) pulled even with the fading Cavaliers, losers of 17 of their past 25, but coach Steve Nash’s team controls its own destiny by owning the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams. Finishing seventh or eighth would mean the Nets only would need to win one play-in game to qualify for the first round of the playoffs. The teams in the ninth and 10th positions would need to win twice to secure the No. 8 playoff seed.
Kevin Durant reacts during the Nets’ win over the Cavaliers. NBAE via Getty Images
All-Star guard Darius Garland scored 31 points for Cleveland and Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Mobley added 17 points after missing the previous five games with an ankle injury.
“I think for us just knowing that we have that opportunity to take that position gives us a little more fuel to the fire,” Drummond said before the game. “I think they’re must-win games for us. I think we know what’s ahead of us and we know what’s going to happen if we do win these two games.
“I think our sense of urgency is a little bit higher than what it was before. And I think we’re prepared to take that next step.”
Bruce Brown takes a layup during the Nets’ win over the Cavaliers. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
The Nets have dealt with various roster issues all season, most notably Irving’s absence from the lineup at home games until March 28 due to his decision to remain unvaccinated for COVID-19, as well as injuries to Durant and others. Ben Simmons (back) also hasn’t suited up for the team since his acquisition from the 76ers in the James Harden blockbuster trade at the February deadline.
Behind Durant and Irving, the Nets overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half Wednesday to beat the Knicks at the Garden.
Durant, who noted after that victory that “it’s too risky” having to come from behind so frequently, propelled the Nets to a 34-17 lead Friday night with 16 points in the first quarter.
Kevin Durant finished with a game-high 36 points.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
The Cavaliers, who have been without All-Star center and former Net Jarrett Allen (finger) since March 6, drew within four points in the second quarter before trailing 62-54 at halftime.
The Nets’ cushion temporarily was pushed back to double digits early in the third, but Garland scored 11 points to front a 28-11 extended run, resulting in an 88-83 turnaround advantage for the Cavaliers entering the final period.
Durant sat down to start the fourth, but was back on the court after just 1:28 elapsed, and he put the Nets back ahead, 95-93, with a 3-pointer with 8:50 remaining. A dunk by Drummond and two free throws by Irving completed a 10-0 Nets spurt and extended their lead to six.
Consecutive triples by Durant and Brown pushed the lead to 105-97 just past the midway point of the quarter, with Brown sprinting down the court afterward with both arms raised over his head as the Nets began to pull away.
It was admirable the Knicks looked at Wednesday’s Nets contest as a big game and a potential big win as they play out the string. Obi Toppin said it was a victory they had “to have,” and they built a 21-point lead early in the third quarter.
But the Nets of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry wouldn’t let this be a Knicks night, wouldn’t let them have one nice parting gift before Tom Thibodeau’s club shuts it all down Sunday.
The Nets, outhustled for 2¹/₂ quarters, bombarded the Knicks in the game’s final 16 minutes and racked up a double-digit win, 110-98.
For a change, there were plenty of Nets fans inside “the mecca’’ who made a racket as Durant finished with a triple-double, Irving racked up 24 points and Curry and Patty Mills put up a pair of 15-point nights.
The Knicks (35-45) are out of the postseason and the Nets, for all their marquee talent, are only on its fringes.
But they still reminded everyone what superstars can achieve and they awoke in time to knock out the star-less Knicks, whose best player, RJ Barrett, still has trouble shooting from range and closing in a clutch way.
“That helps,’’ Thobdeau said, laughing when asked about the Nets possessing two superstars for a tight fourth quarter. “But I love our young guys. I love what they’re doing and they’re getting better and better.
Kyrie Irving celebrates with Kevin Durant during the Nets’ 110-98 win over the Knicks.Jason Szenes
“Hey look, those guys over there were once young guys, too. It’s part of this league. Trial and error. Kyrie, Kevin, throw in Patty and Curry, you get that through experience. The more we go through it, the better we’ll get at it.’’
Barrett has 23 points, but it was a messy 23 as he shot 7-for-27 — 2-for-11 from 3-point range. The Knicks mustered two points in the final five minutes.
“It’s fun to go against them, but really disappointed, really upset,’’ Barrett said. “I felt we should’ve had that one.”
With 10:30 left, Irving stole it from Alec Burks, fed ahead to Durant for an easy dunk to close within 84-83, and it was clear it was a matter of time before owner James Dolan would have to live with an 0-4 record against the cross-the-East River rivals.
Durant splashed two wide-open 3-pointers during the comeback and he just might as well have thrown a pie in Dolan’s face to boot as the Knicks owner sat in his customary baseline seat.
The Knicks still grab the bigger headlines in New York — although not nationally. The Knicks’ headlines taper off after Sunday’s finale versus Toronto at the Garden. The Knicks close up shop and prepare for the lottery on May 17.
Knicks president Leon Rose faces a make-or-break offseason that will determine whether he is qualified to remain in his position. There isn’t an NBA team that would’ve handed over the keys to Rose like Dolan did two years ago.
As the Nets move on to the postseason still with hope, the Knicks enter the offseason hoping for a long-shot summer splash.
Tom ThibodeauJason Szenes
The Big Bang Theory is this could be the offseason Donovan Mitchell demands a trade to the Knicks to rejoin his former CAA agent (Rose) and assistant coach Johnnie Bryant. Rose has his fingers crossed.
Or in a riskier proposition, the Pelicans and Zion Williamson, also repped by CAA, realize theirs is a doomed marriage. Perhaps New Orleans shops him if it’s clear Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin won’t offer him a max rookie contract extension in October since he’s been injured since his first summer league game against the Knicks.
And better yet, maybe Durant, if Brooklyn is bounced in the play-in, finally realizes he’s on the wrong side of the East River and made a mistake to follow Irving in 2019. But don’t count on it. He takes relish in beating the Knicks and hasn’t lost to them since 2013.
“We know how much Knicks fans don’t like us,’’ Durant said. “Especially now this era, with us not choosing the Knicks, me and Kyrie. It definitely adds something to the rivalry no matter who is on the team. If we get more and more animosity between the fan bases, it’s only good for the game.’’
Knicks fans will cling to the fantasies of Mitchell and Zion after this failed season that can’t end soon enough. The Nets will take the stage after Sunday, and Irving’s vaccination status — as egregious as the whole episode was — can be put aside.
The Knicks were all vaccinated entering training camp and never had any issues with the city’s government. But all that compliance didn’t get them past Sunday or a victory this season against Brooklyn.
Knicks fans are still bitter about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving picking the Nets.
Then the two stars reminded them why, lifting Brooklyn to a much-needed 110-98 come-from-behind victory before a sellout crowd of 19,812 at the Garden.
At halftime the Nets had dug a 17-point hole, and Irving had even gotten into it verbally with a fan headed off the court into the locker room. But when they came out, Brooklyn outscored the Knicks 60-31 the rest of the way, their best defensive performance of any half this season.
Durant had 32 points, 11 assists and 10 boards, and Irving added 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He also went back-and-forth with the fan at halftime, and waved goodbye to the Garden crowd afterward.
“Man I just needed to let loose some of that energy, honestly. Because we were in a hole throughout most of the game and I just kept telling our guys that this is our game, this is our game,” Irving said. “But waving to the crowd was just like, ‘Hey, we’ll see you guys next year.’ ”
Kevin Durant, who scored 32 points, goes up for a dunk during the second half of the Nets’ 110-98 win over the Knicks.Jason Szenes
It was the Nets’ seventh straight win over the Knicks, and — after trailing 71-50 in the third — the second time they erased a 20-plus point deficit this year at the Garden.
“I hate being down. I hate even being that team [to] get down and fight back. I don’t like that s–t. I don’t want that to be a part of who we are,” said Durant, who said this has become a rivalry — ratcheted up after he and Irving picked Brooklyn in June 2019.
“We know how much Knicks fans don’t like us. Especially now this era, with us not choosing the Knicks, me and Kyrie. … Imagine the tweets I’ve been getting since I decided to come to the Nets. Knicks fans are still pissed off, little jabs here and there.”
Though Durant said it was all love from Knicks fans, Irving confirmed they ask him all the time why he picked Brooklyn over Manhattan.
“Of course,” said Irving, acknowledging he loves playing provocateur. “I really don’t give an explanation. … You guys know me. I throw darts in the air and just wait for people to assume whatever they want. Am I lying? What could he possibly be talking about? Is he talking about this?”
Kyrie Irving, who scored 24 points, looks to make a pass during the Nets’ win.Jason Szenes
The Nets, who trailed by 21 in the third, used a 20-2 blitz that spanned into the fourth. And after the Knicks retook the lead, Brooklyn (42-38) closed on a 16-2 run to hold onto eighth in the East.
“The first half we didn’t we don’t play Nets brand of basketball, stuff that we preach about every day,” Durant said. “But the second half is who we are.”
Alec Burks led the Knicks with 24 and RJ Barrett added 23, seven assists and seven boards. The Knicks (35-45) outhustled Brooklyn in the first half, only to get out-talented in the second.
“Not much you can do against a 7-footer who can shoot jumpers over anyone,” Barrett said.
RJ Barrett, who scored 23 points, goes up for a layup during the Knicks’ loss.Jason Szenes
Durant’s pullup put the Nets up 25-19 with 1:55 left in the first.
The Knicks reeled off a huge 19-0 run, capped by a layup from Obi Toppin (19 points). Brooklyn missed eight straight shots and saw the Knicks take a 38-25 lead. It was 17 at halftime and the cushion swelled to 71-50 on Barrett’s free throws.
The Knicks still led 82-67 after a Toppin fadeaway with 1:34 in the third. But Brooklyn used a 20-2 blitz to take the momentum and the lead.
A Durant midrange pullup put the Nets up 87-84.
Barrett put the Knicks back ahead 96-94 with 5:11 left, but Brooklyn ran off 10 unanswered points — part of a game-closing 16-2 spurt — to seal the victory.
After Durant found heretofore struggling Patty Mills (15 points) for a huge 3 and 101-96 edge with 2:48 to play, the Knicks never responded.
“It was very unsatisfying for a while. Proud of the group,” coach Steve Nash said. “We didn’t play well in the first half. We didn’t give the requisite fight, spirit, energy. … The second half though you could just see them take the challenge, and we needed all of it.”
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joined the Nets in June 2019, and are wrapping up their third season together in Brooklyn. Somehow they’ve still never played together at the Garden.
That changes Wednesday.
“First game ever,” Irving said after he poured in 42 points to beat Houston 118-105 Tuesday.
And what kind of reaction does he expect from the Knick fans?
“You’re trying to make me go viral over here, man. You know how that series goes between us and the New York Knicks,” he said. “And it’s been that way since I’ve been a fan of the Nets since I was a kid. So is gonna be action-packed.
“It’ll be an exciting environment where you know what to expect. It’s the mecca. So what better way to close out your season, the final few games, playing in one of the most historic arenas in the world. But that aside, we’ve just got to bring it. And looking forward to it. Looking forward to back and forth action. And I know the Knicks will be ready, so we’ve just got to be prepared. It’s about us.”
Kevin Durant and Kyrie IrvingGetty Images
The Nets are 3-0 against the Knicks this season, but Durant missed their earlier Garden visit due to injury. He missed the entire 2019-20 campaign due to a ruptured Achilles.
“It’s going to be big … it’s always a close game when we play them. So hopefully we can blow them out,” Bruce Brown said. “It’s gonna be, what, the first game we play both Ky and KD. I know they’re gonna be super excited.
“Energy is gonna be there the juice is going to be there so we just got to go out there execute and win the game.
“I don’t think [the fans] want to say too many bad things because it’ll be two 50-balls if they try talking.”
Seth Curry sat out Tuesday’s win with a sore ankle but the Nets aren’t planning to shelve the sweet-shooting guard for the rest of the regular season, and hope he can face the Knicks.
Goran Dragic is still in health and safety protocols, and still stuck in Atlanta.
Obi Toppin wants to be able to guard players like Kevin Durant. Lucky for him, he might get an opportunity to do just that on Wednesday.
“We’re gonna see,” Toppin said. “He’s a great player. I will never back down from any matchup — if that opportunity comes, I’m gonna hold my ground.”
That minor subplot to Wednesday’s Knicks-Nets matchup aside, the more important aspect of the game will be the Knicks’ motivation to knock off their rivals in a game Brooklyn needs to win.
It’s not because the Knicks want to play spoiler. It’s just, well, because.
“We got to win tomorrow,” Toppin said. “We lost so many close games against them. We just gotta get a win. We gotta come out with a lot of energy. We’re in our home in the Garden, so we gotta come out with this win.”
Obi Toppin NBAE via Getty Images
Added R.J. Barrett: “It’s a big game. I’m excited. I know the team’s fired up.”
Kevin Durant Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports
The Knicks have yet to beat the Nets in three tries this season, dropping the games by a combined 10 points. Only one game has been decided by more than a possession, and the last matchup came down to a poor inbounds pass with one second left when the Knicks had a chance to tie the game.
“I think it’s ridiculous that we have lost by two or three points every single time,” Barrett said. “It’s crazy. I’ll try to break that cycle [Wednesday].”
The Nets are locked into the play-in game, but tied with Charlotte on record. Currently, they’re the 10-seed, but could move up, perhaps even into the 7-8 game if things break right.
Toppin’s ability to guard Durant could, of course, be a key factor in how Wednesday goes. With just three games left in his sophomore NBA season, the 24-year-old wants to see his game develop on the defensive end of the court going into next year as well.
“I feel like that’s the biggest thing, being able to guard 1 through 5,” Toppin said Tuesday in a press conference that amounted to an assessment of his season with just three games left. “Being able to switch onto Kyrie [Irving] or [Seth] Curry. Being able to guard those elite athletes and being able to switch onto Kevin Durant or something. I want to be a really good defender, cause I feel like that’s gonna take my game to another level.”
Julius Randle and Derrick Rose are unlikely to play the rest of the regular season, Thibodeau said.
Thibodeau said he would see how Quentin Grimes (knee) and Miles McBride (knee) feel on Wednesday morning before deciding whether they’ll play.
