Game Notes: Magic at Nets

By Russ Bengtson and Jake Appleman The Last (?) Opening Night in the Swamp Let’s get right into this, shall we? PREGAME The visitor’s locker room, which clearly will retain its Rikers-like charm until the Izod Center goes to that great Xanadu in the sky, is quiet. Too quiet. That is, until Vince Carter briefly emerges from the back room, Biggie clearly audible from his Beats. Guest passes, tickets, that sort of thing. His appearance is a cameo. Moments later, the same door opens with a literal crash as Matt Barnes bursts through it. He looks behind the door to see whether he broke anything—which is funny, seeing that the entire room could be replaced for about $37. “Hey Marc!” (pronounced like “Marcy” without the “Y”—chump, you’re JV) he yells to Marcin Gortat, who’s quietly trying to get through a plate of chicken fingers. “That’s the steroids!” (He’s joking.) There’s a Phillies fitted on top of someone’s locker, and I wonder whose it is. Oh yes, Jameer Nelson. Dwight H...