14 years ago today: The Nets play their first game in Brooklyn, two days late because of Hurricane Sandy, and beat the Raptors

Fourteen years ago today, on Saturday, November 3, 2012, the Brooklyn Nets played their first regular-season game. They beat the Toronto Raptors 107-100 at Barclays Center in front of 17,732 fans, with Brook Lopez scoring 27 points.

It was not the opener anyone had planned. The Nets were supposed to begin life in Brooklyn two nights earlier against the New York Knicks. Then Hurricane Sandy hit the city.

The opener that Sandy took away

The Knicks game had been circled for months: the first meeting of two New York teams in a new borough rivalry, scheduled for Thursday, November 1 at the brand-new arena on Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. After Sandy made landfall on October 29, much of the subway system was shut down, large parts of the city were without power and police were stretched thin. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called off the game, and it was moved to November 26.

That left the Raptors as the first regular-season visitors. The arena had already hosted its first NBA preseason game on October 15, against the Washington Wizards, but this was the night that counted.

• Date: Saturday, November 3, 2012, Barclays Center, Brooklyn
• Final: Nets 107, Raptors 100
• By quarter: Toronto led 35-27 after one; Brooklyn won the second 33-17
• Nets leaders: Brook Lopez 27 points, Deron Williams 19 points and 9 assists, Reggie Evans 13 rebounds
• Raptors leaders: Kyle Lowry 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists; DeMar DeRozan 25 points
• Attendance: 17,732

Lopez carries the first night

Toronto started faster, scoring 35 points in the first quarter. Brooklyn answered with a 33-17 second quarter to lead 60-52 at halftime, and Toronto could only win the second half by one point, 48-47. Lopez, back after a stress fracture in his right foot limited him to five games the previous season, made 8 of 17 shots and 11 of 15 free throws.

Williams, who had signed a five-year deal worth about $98.7 million that summer to stay with the team, ran the offense. Joe Johnson, acquired from Atlanta in July, scored 14 in his Nets debut, and Gerald Wallace added 10. C.J. Watson gave the Nets 15 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting, and Evans grabbed 13 rebounds in under 16 minutes.

For Toronto, Lowry was nearly unstoppable, and DeRozan made 8 of 13 shots. The Nets made up the difference at the line, going 27 of 37 to the Raptors’ 19 of 25.

Eight years ago today, the

𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓵𝔂𝓷 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓼

hit the floor in BK for the first time. pic.twitter.com/PFoecysdM2

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 3, 2020

Back in New York after 35 years

The win closed a long road. The Nets had left Long Island for New Jersey in 1977 and spent 35 years there, first in Piscataway, then at the Meadowlands and finally in Newark. Bruce Ratner bought the team in 2004 for $300 million with a plan to move it to Brooklyn, but lawsuits and the financial crisis held the arena back until ground was broken in March 2010. Mikhail Prokhorov became the principal owner in 2009, and minority owner Jay-Z announced the Brooklyn Nets name in September 2011.

The Nets became the first major professional team to call Brooklyn home since the Dodgers left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Their new black-and-white look was designed to echo old subway signs, and Nets merchandise was soon among the league’s best sellers.

A winning first season

The Nets went 11-4 in November, and Avery Johnson was named the East’s Coach of the Month. When the Knicks finally came to Brooklyn on November 26, the Nets won 96-89 in overtime, outscoring New York 12-5 in the extra period despite 35 points from Carmelo Anthony. Lopez had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Williams handed out 14 assists.

The good start did not last. A 3-10 December cost Johnson his job on December 27, and P.J. Carlesimo finished the season as interim coach. The Nets went 49-33, their first winning record since 2005-06, and Lopez made his first All-Star team. Their first playoff series in Brooklyn went seven games, but an injury-hit Chicago Bulls team won Game 7 at Barclays Center, 99-93.

This season is the Nets’ 15th in Brooklyn. Barclays Center has since hosted the NBA draft every year except 2020, part of the 2015 All-Star Weekend and a WNBA title for the Liberty, but its NBA story began on a Saturday night that was never meant to be opening night.