Kenny Atkinson on how he changed as a head coach after Nets firing

CLEVELAND — In his first game as a head coach against the Nets team that fired him — and yes, Brooklyn fired him — Kenny Atkinson admitted there was a little extra incentive, extra emotion, and just plain extra.A night after leading Cleveland to a win over Golden State — where he had won a championship as an assistant — and a league-best unbeaten record, Atkinson guided his team to 11-0 with a 105-100 win over the Nets franchise that canned him in 2020.“Yeah.I mean, it’s always … it’s unique,” Atkinson said Saturday.

“The Warriors, that was a unique game.This is a [special] back-to-back.

But you’re a competitor, right? And even [Friday], I was like, ‘Man, I wanted that game,’ because you had such great experience with the team you were with, but you also want to beat them.“And it’s the same with the Nets.Wonderful experience I had, but there’s always something, a little something extra when you’ve been with a team before.

A little more awareness, a little more tension, a little more … you want it a little more.”Atkinson — a Long Island native — was with the Nets for parts of four seasons from 2016 through 2020.The Huntington native took over the worst team in the NBA and guided them into the playoffs — with current Cavaliers Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert on the roster — before having the rug pulled out from under him.With Kevin Durant missing 2019-20 recovering from a torn Achilles and Kyrie Irving in and out of the lineup, the Nets went through some predictable struggles that season.

After Atkinson called a postgame meeting, Durant — who wasn’t playing — spent much of it ripping the state of the team.The lack of backing from the stars prompted Atkinson’s ouster.And his firing promoted some soul-searching from Atkinson.“Yeah, I’ve grown a lot.

I’ve changed a lot as a coach, which is a good thing.I’ve progressed.

I’ve developed,” Atkinson said.“Definitely not the same coach I was in Brookly...