Coach Kidd Countdown: No. 1

The rewind of Coach Jason Kidd’s rookie season closes with a monumental and thrilling playoff victory that sent his Nets to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

No. 1: May 4, 2014—Nets Win Series in Canadian Thriller

After a frustrating 10-21 start to the season, a playoff berth looked almost out of the question for Jason Kidd’s Brooklyn Nets in the waning days of 2013. But against all odds, Coach Kidd orchestrated a Big Apple turnaround in 2014 to send Brooklyn to the playoffs.

However, after falling behind 3-2 to the No. 3 seed Toronto Raptors in the playoffs, Jason’s squad faced similarly mountainous odds.

But once again, the Nets turned to their stoic coach, and together they climbed that mountain, edging the Raptors 104-103 at the summit, on the road, in Game 7 of their first round playoff series.

It came down to the final seconds, when Paul Pierce blocked Kyle Lowry’s final shot attempt to seal the series. At that magical moment, the normally cool and calm Kidd, ran onto the court, looking for someone to embrace until he found the outstretched arms of Deron Williams. He called it his “Jimmy V” moment. 

“For us to come in here and get a win, that just shows the character,” said Jason, who became the first rookie head coach to win a Game 7 on the road. “It also shows how good we can be.”

As had been customary for a meet-up between the two sides, both teams came out energized to start the pivotal Game 7. As such, they traded punches back and forth, with each team refusing to give up anything to its opponent.

Powered by the raucous Air Canada Centre crowd, Toronto took a 26-20 lead on a Greivis Vasquez jumper with 2:15 left in the first frame. Brooklyn answered right back with a long trey from Marcus Thornton. A pair of Patrick Patterson free throws pushed the lead back to five, but Pierce came up big with another 3-pointer on Brooklyn’s final possession to cut the Nets deficit to just two, 28-26, through one quarter of play.

Brooklyn pulled it together offensively in the second quarter and shot 12-for-18 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range to outscore the Raptors 35-25 in the second.

The Nets took their first lead since midway through the first when Kevin Garnett sank a finger roll lay-in and was fouled on the play. His free throw made it 35-34 Brooklyn, and the visitors attempted to build from there. Garnett’s shot was part of an 11-0 run by the Nets that put them up by seven points with 6:17 left in the half.

Toronto cut the lead to three points four different times, but Brooklyn, buoyed by the strong play of Thornton off the bench, held strong. A Shaun Livingston pull-up jumper gave Brooklyn a 61-51 lead with less than 30 seconds left in the half, but the Raptors earned two free throws on their last possession to make it 61-53 Nets at halftime.

Thornton had 10 points in the frame, and his 14 first-half points were best on the Nets. Meanwhile, Amir Johnson’s 18 points topped the Raptors. Brooklyn shot near 55 percent from both the field and behind the arc in the half, while holding Toronto to 48.7 percent and 22.2 percent shooting, respectively.

Brooklyn appeared primed to turn it into a rout in the third quarter when a Williams layup and a pair of free throws on consecutive possessions gave the team a 12-point lead. However, Toronto refused to go away and countered every Nets run to keep the deficit manageable and thanks to a fadeaway 3-pointer from Demar DeRozan at the third quarter buzzer, the Brooklyn lead was just eight, 81-73, heading into the final frame.

Early on in the fourth quarter, Coach Kidd’s squad still looked to be in control of the game. Joe Johnson was having his way in the post and scored 11 straight points for Brooklyn to give his team a 95-85 lead with 5:38 left in regulation.

At home and on the brink, the Raptors kept fighting. Lowry led the way, a process that culminated when his trifecta made it a one-point ballgame with 16.7 to go.

Kidd took a timeout to discuss things over with his team and sub Williams and Pierce back into the game. On the following Brooklyn drive, Livingston drew a foul and made two free throws to make it 104-101. Terrence Ross came back on the next Raptors possession with a driving layup to ignite the crowd with 8.8 seconds left on the clock. When Brooklyn turned the ball over on their final possession, Toronto immediately called timeout to try and set up a game winning shot.

Off the inbounds pass, the ball made its way to Lowry, who split the tough defense of Williams and Garnett in the lane. Fortunately, the always-clutch Pierce was there with the back-side help and swatted away Lowry’s final attempt.

“I saw him go up; I went up with him. Got my hand on the ball. Game over” Pierce said. “I really didn’t have a great offensive game, I was in foul trouble for most of the night. Sometimes you’ve got to find ways to help your ballclub win.”

Kidd echoed the sentiments of his wily veteran.

“Paul said it best, that’s why he’s here, to make plays,” Kidd said. “He didn’t have a great game, but it only takes one play to help a team win and that’s what he did tonight.”

Joe Johnson ended the night with 26 points, but it was a true team effort, as he was one of six Nets in double figures. The series win over Toronto showed the heart and grittiness of Kidd and his club, who made a phenomenal renaissance after looking to be dead in the water midway through the season.

“Definitely, a lot of resilience,” Williams said of his team’s play. “Two elimination games in a row and we were able to close out the series. It definitely shows a lot about the character of our team.”