The knock on the Nets in preseason was their porous defense. Not so in the opener in Washington. New Jersey held the Wizards to 37 per cent shooting overall and (surprise, surprise) 23.8% from deep as they won 95-85, stopping Washington without a field goal for six minutes late in the fourth. In addition, the Nets turned the ball over only nine times, erasing another preseason concern. Hours after being named captain, Vince Carter had an impressive outing to lead the winners, scoring 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting and handing out six assists. Carter hit a 16-foot fadeaway jumper over Caron Butler to put the Nets ahead 90-82 with a minute left and put the game out of reach. But the big surprise was the contributions of the team's new faces. Yi Jianlian scored 17 on 6-for-11 shooting, including two deep three's. Jarvis Hayes, playing against the team that picked him in the draft--then dumped him, had 14 off the bench, including two more three's, and rookie Brook Lopez had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Devin Harris finished with 13 points and 5 assists. Antawn Jamison and DeShawn Stevenson led the Wiz with 14 each.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Carter leads new-look Nets past no-Arenas Wizards - Howard Fendrich - AP
- Highlights: Nets 95, Wizards 85 (video) - NBA.com
- Hayes sparks Nets to 95-85 victory - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Nets' Boone plans on keeping center job - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Williams out of rotation for season opener - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Photo Gallery: Nets 95, Wizards 85 - Ned Dishman - NBA.com
- Wizards Tip Off With a Whimper - Ivan Carter - Washington Post
- Bad Shooting Leads to Rough Start - Ivan Carter & Michael Lee - Washington Post
- Nets Start Fast in What Could Be Long Season - Jonathan Abrams - New York Times
- Merely Two-Dimensional - Mike Wise - Washington Post
- Great Beginning - Al Iannazzone - In the 'Zzone
- Nets happy after winning opener - Al Iannazzone - YES Network
- Lawrence Frank Interview (Video) - YES Network
- Vince Carter Interview (Video) - YES Network
- Post Game Plus (Video) - YES Network
- Committe Vote - Joe - Joe Netsfan
- Team Carter doesn't need DC bailout - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Boo-tiful Night for Hayes - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Newcomers quick to assist Vince Carter in Nets' win over Wizards - Julian Garcia - New York Daily News
- An opening stumble - Mike Jones - Washington Times
- Opening right: Nets look sharp - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Nets’ Prez isn’t the optimist - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Photo Gallery: Yi Makes Strong Debut for NBA Nets - Xinhua
- Top 10 Plays of the Night (video) - NBA.com