It took some time on Saturday afternoon for the ambiance to rise inside Barclays Center. Just after 3 p.m., there were empty seats all over the arena as the Nets’ first home playoff game of the year was set to tip-off, giving the occasion the subdued feeling of a weekend brunch.
But the vacant seats were gradually filled, the Nets slowly found their groove, and, as they were closing out a 91-83 win over the Atlanta Hawks, spontaneous singsong chants of “Brook-lyn” — largely missing from the arena this season — poured out of the stands.
It was a crucial win for the Nets, who had lost the first two games of this first-round series against the top-seeded Hawks.