Brooklyn Nets honor Notorious B.I.G. with a banner in the rafters 20 years after his death [Video]

The Notorious B.I.G. once rapped, “Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.”

Those lyrics, from the song “Juicy,” now hang permanently in the rafters of the New York City borough’s Barclays Center, on a banner that also features the late rapper’s name and the number 72 (the year of his birth).

The banner was raised at halftime during the Nets’ 120-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night, dubbed by the team “Biggie Night,” three days after the 20th anniversary of the death of the man born Christopher Wallace and also known by the name Biggie Smalls.

“There would be no Biggie without Brooklyn,” the rapper’s mentor and best friend Sean “Diddy” Combs said during a halftime ceremony that also featured Wallace’s mother, Voletta, his two children and others.

“Usually we do a moment of silence, but in honor of Biggie being from Brooklyn — he always said, ‘Spread love the Brooklyn way,’ I would like to get 10 seconds of Brooklyn noise,” Combs said to an obliging crowd.

“Biggie Night” also featured plenty of Smalls’ music, as well as pregame words to the crowd from his mother, who was attending her first NBA game.

“This is very, very surreal. Very surreal,” Wallace told SB Nation. “Had he been alive, he would have been elated.”

Adding to the surreal nature of the night was the fact that the Nets won, breaking a 16-game home losing streak.

“We put on a good show for her,” Brooklyn center Brook Lopez said of Voletta Wallace. “Obviously Biggie is such a huge part of hip-hop and Brooklyn culture in general that it was great to see our team and organization give him his due, honor him and bring his family to be a part of it. It’s something I’m proud and honored to be a part of.”

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony added: “Biggie Smalls was definitely in full effect in Brooklyn tonight. The spirit was here tonight.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii