Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Deron Williams scored the first points of the Nets' home opener in Brooklyn.
For the first time since 1957, a major professional sports franchise was able to call itself the home team in Brooklyn. After a wait of 55 years, a delay of a few days as New York recovered from Hurricane Sandy seemed hardly too much to ask.
Having spent the off-season investing heavily to build a contender out of the ashes of a perennial lottery entry, the renamed Brooklyn Nets hung on to beat the Toronto Raptors, 107-100, on Saturday night.
Throughout the game, a raucous crowd serenaded the Nets with cheers and chants of "Brooklyn!" The enthusiasm was palpable although the opener came two days later than expected: Thursday's scheduled game against the Knicks was postponed largely because there were few, if any, transportation options to Barclays Center at the time.
At 7:43 p.m., the dream of fans and ownership was finally realized as the first points in the Nets' new arena came on a midrange jumper from Deron Williams, the star chosen as the face of the franchise by General Manager Billy King and Mikhail Prokhorov, the team's Russian owner. Williams later hit clutch free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
"In some ways we tried to downplay it," Coach Avery Johnson said after the game. "But this night meant a whole lot to a lot of people."
While perhaps not looking as cohesive as some had hoped, and still seeming weak on defense, the Nets at least began their residency in their new home with a win, enjoying a home-court advantage for the first time in recent memory.
"We're in Brooklyn now, and it's a big difference," Johnson said. "You saw the crowd tonight. Not only did we have a sellout, but they were into the game."
The Nets opened the game looking disorganized and had no answer for Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan, falling behind, 35-27, in the first quarter. Lowry would finish with 28 points, and DeRozan had 25.
But it was C. J. Watson, not Williams, who finally slowed down Lowry as the Nets clawed back in the second quarter. He, along with his fellow reserves Reggie Evans and Andray Blatche, brought previously unseen energy onto the court, and the Nets' starters followed their lead the rest of the way.
"We started to make costly turnovers and gave them momentum," DeRozan said. "They took our rhythm away from us."
Williams finished with 19 points and 9 assists and was awarded the game ball, something Johnson said would happen regardless of the result.
"Tonight, I don't care if Deron didn't score; he was going to get the game ball," Johnson said. "Because a lot of what's happening with this team is because he decided to re-sign."
In perhaps the most important development, the Nets saw an uncharacteristically aggressive Brook Lopez fight for points inside, throw down a few strong dunks and have his way with Toronto's rookie center, Jonas Valanciunas, whom he forced into early foul trouble. Lopez, who was re-signed in the off-season after an injury-plagued 2011-12, finished with 27 points and 5 rebounds.
"He was a dominant force out there," Williams said of Lopez. "We want to play inside out, and he did a great job of attacking and not settling for jumpers. That's what we need."
Before the game, Prokhorov addressed the media, declaring the team a work in progress. He was candid and amusing, showing aggressiveness in setting an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals as the bar for a successful season.
Prokhorov, who recently announced that he would pursue politics full time, said that decision would not affect his role with the team and seemed thrilled with Barclays Center.
"It's not a hole anymore," he joked in reference to the state of the property when Bruce Ratner, who developed the site and still owns a piece of the Nets, first showed it to him. "I'm very excited. A lot of my friends and I have been thirsting for the first game."
Joining the Nets before the game were Ralph Branca and Joe Pignatano, members of the 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers, the last major sports franchise to call the borough home. They, along with Gil Hodges Jr., exchanged jerseys with Nets players.
While the expected season opener against the Knicks was postponed, putting the budding intracity rivalry on ice for the time being, that did not stop Branca, the Dodgers pitcher who allowed Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World in 1951, from stoking the fires. He declared the potential for a fierce rivalry between the Nets and Knicks just like the one his Dodgers had with Thomson's New York Giants.
"Brooklyn is Brooklyn, and Manhattan is New York," Branca said. "Brooklyn has always been considered second-class to Manhattan, but that's only Manhattan's thinking."
A win over the Raptors may not send the same message the Knicks did by beating the defending champion Miami Heat in their season opener on the other side of the East River. But for the crowd in Brooklyn, it was a cause for celebration.
Rebounds
Ticket sales and page traffic on Stubhub, an online ticket marketplace, jumped 20 percent on Saturday morning after Gov. ANDREW M. CUOMO's announcement that subway service had been restored to Brooklyn. ... GERALD WALLACE left the game with a sprained left ankle. X-rays were negative, and Wallace is day to day.
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