Brooklyn debut for the Nets is postponed

The Nets’ regular-season debut in Brooklyn will have to wait. The New York City Marathon, however, is good to go.

With mass transportation still crippled in the aftermath of the super storm Sandy, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg asked the NBA to postpone Thursday’s opener between the Knicks and Nets at the Barclays Center, and the league agreed.

“It’s a great stadium, it would have been a great game, but the bottom line is: There is not a lot of mass transit. Our police have plenty of other things to do,” Bloomberg said at a news conference Wednesday.

The Knicks are now scheduled to open their season at home Friday night against the Miami Heat. The Nets are scheduled to play host to Toronto on Saturday night.

Bloomberg said the city will work with the league to provide extra buses to Saturday’s game in case the subways are not yet operational. Brett Yormark, the Nets’ chief executive, said in a statement that there would be food and beverage specials starting at 5:30 p.m.

Basketball will wait, but the mayor said the marathon will go on as planned Sunday.

Marathon organizers had been moving forward with planning but awaited final word from the city about whether holding the race would be safe and viable with flooding, power outages and transit shutdowns still afflicting the five boroughs.

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Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson agreed to a four-year contract extension, the Chicago Tribune reported. Gibson said the extension, which runs through the 2016-17 season, is for $38 million. But two people familiar with the deal said that numerous incentives would need to be reached for the package to hit that number. The base pay averages $8 million annually, they said.

Gibson had said before the Bulls’ game against Sacramento that he didn’t expect an agreement to be reached and that he was turning down Chicago’s offer.

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Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry signed a $44-million, four-year contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2016-17 season.

The team announced a multiyear deal with Curry before Wednesday night’s season opener at the Phoenix Suns. It was the final day Golden State could sign Curry to an extension or he would have become a restricted free agent next summer.

The Bulls have appointed Hall of Fame member Scottie Pippen senior advisor to president and chief operating officer Michael Reinsdorf. Pippen has been serving as a team ambassador.

ETC.

Querrey knocks off Djokovic

Sam Querrey recovered from a humiliating first set to beat second-seeded Novak Djokovic, 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in the second round of the Paris Masters.

It was the first time since the Miami Masters in March 2010 that Djokovic has been eliminated so early in a tournament.

Querrey hit 18 aces and converted his second match point when Djokovic’s return sailed long.

Djokovic had already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking after defending champion Roger Federer pulled out of the tournament to rest for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

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Caroline Wozniacki defeated Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions at Sofia, Bulgaria.

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Rafael Soriano opted out of the final year of his $35-million, three-year contract and will probably seek a long-term deal in free agency. The right-hander had 42 saves for the New York Yankees last season after longtime closer Mariano Rivera tore knee ligaments in early May.

Soriano was set to make $14 million next season and had until Wednesday to opt out. Instead, New York will pay him a $1.5-million buyout. The Yankees can make him a qualifying offer of $13.3 million before Friday’s 11:59 p.m. EDT deadline and if Soriano signs with another team, they will get draft compensation.

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Will Bruin scored twice and the Houston Dynamo beat the Chicago Fire, 2-1, in the opening round of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference playoffs at Bridgeview, Ill.

The Dynamo, which hadn’t beaten the Fire since 2010, advances to host top-seeded Kansas City in Sunday’s first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals.