Brooklyn Nets an infrequent tradition on Christmas
By Phil Watson
Dec. 25, 1982: Cook ties it in regulation, wins it in OT
Darwin Cook made two of the biggest plays of the game, converting a driving layup with nine seconds left in regulation to force overtime and then finishing another drive to the tin with 1:09 left in overtime to give the New Jersey Nets the lead for good in a 112-110 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Those were four of Cook’s six points on the afternoon, but they were huge.
Buck Williams shot 14-for-15 in 44 minutes and finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets. Albert King went for 17 points and 11 boards, while Cook also handed off nine assists.
Albert’s older brother, Bernard King, led the Knicks with a game-high 32 points. Truck Robinson had 10 boards for New York and Paul Westphal came off the bench for 14 points and nine assists, while Ed Sherod dished out eight dimes.
The loss dropped New York to 9-18, but they would get the last laugh on the Nets, sweeping them in the first round of the playoffs after coach Larry Brown quit with six games left in the regular season to take the head coaching job at the University of Kansas.