Blake Griffin finally made his Nets debut Sunday.
It was the veteran forward’s two-handed dunk — his first since 2019 — that had the Barclays Center crowd on its feet. But it was Griffin’s subtle impact on the Nets win over Washington that had Steve Nash all smiles.
“I thought Blake was great,” Nash said. “I don’t think he stuffed the stat sheet, but just his experience, intelligence, made winning plays. In 15 minutes he was a plus-12, so I thought Blake was great, and you can see how he can help us.”
Griffin had just two points and two rebounds in 14:57. But finishing a game-high plus-12, he showed basketball acumen and defensive versatility.
“It was great man, just to be back out there and sort of get a bit of a rhythm going was a great,” Griffin said. “It’s tough to recreate like actual game atmosphere. So to get out there, you know felt good and felt like it was a good start. But you know, got some got some room to improve, obviously.”
Griffin took a charge on Bradley Beal, screened Landry Shamet open for a corner 3-pointer, and yes, blew by center Robin Lopez for a two-handed dunk. It was his first since December 2019, and the Cheshire Cat grin on the way upcourt — with Nets’ bench erupting — showed how much it meant.
“It felt great. I knew once it happened it was going to be a thing. And so I tried not to look at the bench when I was coming back down. But then I kind of peeked over, and I saw the DeAndre all the way out on the side, and I saw [everybody] standing up. So it’s hard not to smile in that situation. But it felt good to just get that out of the way and move on,” said Griffin, who said he heard the crowd reaction.
“I think our crowd has been great,” he said. “Obviously limited, but our crowd has been great. I did notice it a little bit, I was trying to stay locked in but definitely heard [them]. But the best part about great crowds is when there’s a moment in the game and fans are knowledgeable, they know what’s going on, they’ll cheer for anybody on our team. I always appreciate playing in front of crowds that know what’s going on.”
Landry Shamet suffered a right ankle sprain and will be evaluated Monday.
“I don’t know [the severity]. He’ll definitely have a scan or imaging and we’ll go from there,” Nash said. “But I don’t have any further details unfortunately.”
Kevin Durant missed his 15th straight game with a hamstring injury.
With the Nets having to fill one of their two open roster spots by Monday, they’ll do it by adding 6-foot-7, 212-pound forward Alize Johnson. The move was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by The Post.
A 2018 second-round pick, Johnson had played sparingly for Indiana his first two years, shooting 41.4 percent from the field last season and 37.5 from deep. He dominated the G-League for Raptors 905 and is a favorite to be named league MVP on Monday. He averaged 16.6 points and was second in rebounding (13.3) and efficiency (27.2).
Johnson drew interest from the Magic, Raptors, Rockets, Spurs and Suns, according to The Ringer. Brooklyn still has an open roster spot with the trade deadline looming on Thursday and Shamet’s injury. If they need a long-term replacement, JJ Redick — who lives in Brooklyn during the offseason — could be a potential fit.
