NEWARK � New Jersey Nets fans, starved for a star, gave point guard Deron Williams a rousing welcome before his first home game Monday against the Phoenix Suns.
By Julio Cortez, AP
New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams talks with Jay-Z as Beyonce Knowles, center, is seen courtside prior to the start of Williams' Nets home debut. Williams finished with 13 points and 18 assists in the losing effort.
By Julio Cortez, AP
New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams talks with Jay-Z as Beyonce Knowles, center, is seen courtside prior to the start of Williams' Nets home debut. Williams finished with 13 points and 18 assists in the losing effort.
They witnessed, however, another heartbreaker, as the Suns won 104-103 in overtime, after New Jersey rallied from a nine-point deficit with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Williams finished with 13 points, and five of his season-high 18 assists came in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter to help force overtime. He missed a running bank shot with 1.2 seconds left in overtime, and Kris Humphries' tip-in was not in time. Phoenix's Channing Frye hit a game-winner (a three-pointer) for the second day in a row.
As much as the prolonged opening ovation had to be heartwarming for Williams, New Jersey's 17-43 record, six-game losing streak and scattered empty seats at Prudential Center pointed to the uncertain future.
"The fans were great. I was hoping for a sellout, but it was good," Williams said. "We were trying to get them a win."
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BOX SCORE: Suns 104, Nets 103
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The Nets have lost all three games since he was traded from the Utah Jazz on Wednesday for guard Devin Harris, rookie forward Derrick Favors and two first-round draft choices. This was the first game coach Avery Johnson implemented some plays from Utah.
"When we came in (Monday), he had some plays up and asked me if I liked them and I said, 'Yeah,' " Williams said. "We hung in there and battled. We were right there."
Guard Anthony Morrow had 22 points, none bigger than the three free throws he hit with 2.7 seconds left to send it into overtime.
"It's a blessing to have (Williams) on the team. He was putting the ball exactly where I needed it," Morrow said. "It's going to be great for us if we continue to play with this kind of energy."
Williams set an NBA record for most assists through his first three games with a new team (47), breaking the mark of 44 set by Guy Rogers with the Chicago Bulls in 1966.
"We have a player we are going to really be able to depend on," said Peter Katzenbach of Lincoln Park, N.J.
Do they? Williams (6-3, 209) can be a free agent after 2011-12, putting the onus on Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov to convince him that his arrival is the start of something big as the club prepares for its move to Brooklyn, N.Y., for the 2012-13 season.
Williams spoke with Prokhorov after Friday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs and said another meeting is planned when the Nets travel to London to face the Toronto Raptors this weekend. Williams said Prokhorov emphasized his willingness to devote whatever resources are necessary for a turnaround.
"That gets you excited, when an owner says he will spend money and put people around you. That's appealing," Williams said.
The shift to Brooklyn, he said, would not be the overriding factor in his decision to remain with the club. "Winning tops everything. It could be in North Dakota for all I care."
Alfredo Regala of Livingston, N.J., is encouraged by what he is seeing. "At least Prokhorov is not sitting on his butt," Regala said. "He made a move for a point guard before we go to Brooklyn, and hopefully in the offseason he will make a move for a big man."
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