NET NOTES
BOSTON – Todd MacCulloch knew it was put up or shut up. He had been bragging to Jason Kidd, his practice free-throw partner, about his prowess on the free throw line. This from a guy who shot .519 and .636 from the line his first two years in the league.
“I told him, ‘I make them when they count,’ ” MacCulloch said.
And it counted lots when he went to the line with 12.6 seconds left last night vs. the Celtics. The Nets were up one point following a pair of Kenny Anderson misses, the second of which MacCulloch grabbed.
“I kind of had to back up my word,” said MacCulloch, who did just that making both to supply the final margin in the Nets’ 95-92 victory, a win that made the Nets 2-0 for only the fourth time in their 26-year history.
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Antoine Walker was brutal for the Celtics, shooting a wretched 6-of-29 to finish with 16 points. He was loudly and frequently booed by the home crowd . . . Paul Pierce was 7-of-9 on 3-pointers in his 36-point night.
Nets were 2-0 three previous times in their NBA history. They were 4-0 in 1997-98 when they finished with 43 victories; they started 2-0 in 1989-90 when they stunned the NBA for 17 triumphs and they were 2-0 in 1978-79 when they won 37.
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Celtics will sign ex-Knick Erick Strickland today. The 6-3, five-year vet will get a guaranteed $653,350 deal . . . Kerry Kittles is thrilled with status of his surgically repaired knee. He winces only at the thought of four games in five nights to start the season.
“I probably won’t get out of bed Thursday [today],” he said.
Reggie Slater, signed to replace the injured Brian Scalabrine Tuesday, knows his role with his 6-7 and 255-pound frame.
“Get some rebounds, set picks and do the dirty work,” Slater said. “God blessed me with a big body. I’ve got to use it.”
Nets were outrebounded 51-46.