The last time the Knicks played the Nets, they dealt Brooklyn a 29-point loss back on April 2 that was decided well before halftime.
New York led by more than 30 points at times in the second half, leading to extended garbage time that apparently went on too long for two of the Nets’ veteran players.
Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson were shown during the nationally televised contest having some laughs while on the bench late in the game, and Jeff Van Gundy called them out for their less than professional behavior during the broadcast.
In advance of the final meeting between the two teams this season, Johnson said that Van Gundy was right.
From Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:“(Van Gundy’s) probably right. We shouldn’t have been laughing,” said Johnson, who was spotted on television smiling and laughing with teammate Paul Pierce multiple times over the course of 3½ minutes in garbage time of a 29-point defeat at the Garden two weeks ago. “I can’t remember honestly what Paul said, but it had to be super funny for me to laughing and for us to losing the way we were losing.”
The scene on ESPN prompted Van Gundy, a television analyst, to declare on the air, “I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you’re taking it seriously.”He later said it was insulting to Nets fans and was “a horrible look for the league.”
Van Gundy wasn’t appalled or anything, and was merely pointing out that if any die-hard Nets fans were still watching, the reactions of Pierce and Johnson were less than desirable. While it was really just a minor transgression, it’s still nice to see that Johnson recognizes it.
