Scoreless Collins receives warm welcome on Nets debut

[February 24, 2014]  (Reuters) — Jason Collins did not register a single point on Sunday, but he scored a moment for basketball history as he became the first openly gay player to appear in an NBA game.

Collins, who last April revealed he was gay, signed a 10-day contract with Brooklyn earlier in the day before making his appearance for the Nets in a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

Collins entered the contest 10:28 left in the second quarter and received a warm reception from the opposing crowd.

"I thought it was great," Collins told reporters, of the greeting.

"Being an L.A. kid, I can't think of a better situation, playing for the Nets and playing here and getting the win. Just glad Kobe (Bryant) and Shaq (O'Neal) weren't out there."

Collins finished with no points, two rebounds, one steal and five fouls in 11 minutes.

On a night he made history, the Nets (26-28) also snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Lakers (19-37).

"The most important thing is the team got the win," Collins said.

"I don't care about scoring. I care about my team winning."

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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