Saturday, June 01, 2002
Eastern champs finish strong
By HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON — The biggest collapse in playoff history pushed the New Jersey Nets into the NBA Finals for the first time.
They learned from wasting a 21-point, fourth-quarter lead in Game 3 that defense wins. And that's what gave them a 96-88 victory Friday night in a clinching Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“That loss in Game 3, I think, really allowed us to grow and understand what helps us win ballgames,” Nets forward Keith Van Horn said. “We're a good offensive team. Our defense won it for us.”
The Celtics won that Game 3 94-90 last Saturday by outscoring the Nets 41-16 in the fourth quarter. No team had ever won a playoff game after trailing by so many points entering the fourth period.
But that was Boston's last win of the series.
“It was the best thing, basically, really that happened to us, losing Game 3 the way we did,” New Jersey coach Byron Scott said. “It made us a better team, made us stronger, especially in the second half.”
The Nets started well most of the series. In the previous three games, they led by 15, 13 and 15 points after one quarter. On Friday, they charged into a 14-3 lead, but the Celtics led 28-21 at the end of the period.
In overcoming a 54-44 halftime deficit, New Jersey proved it is much more than a first-quarter team.
It scored the last six points of the third quarter as Kenyon Martin's two free throws gave the Nets a 70-69 lead. They never trailed again and outscored the Celtics 26-19 in the final period.
In the fourth quarter, they tightened their defense to deny the ball to Paul Pierce, the NBA regular-season leader in fourth-quarter points, and Antoine Walker. The Celtics missed 16 of their 23 shots.
“They came back so many times against us with those two guys in the fourth quarter,” Nets guard Lucious Harris said. “So we just took those guys out of the equation and let the other guys try to beat us.”
Pierce and Walker did take nine of Boston's 23 shots in the fourth quarter, but eight were 3-pointers they fired up trying to come back. Only one went in.
“They went to a box-and-one. It was hard to just touch the ball,” Pierce said. “They know in the fourth quarter I'm an aggressive player and they just did a great job.”
When the game was over — when time expired after the last shot of the game, by Jason Kidd, went off the rim — Martin pulled off his jersey and Kidd was embraced near midcourt by two of his former Phoenix teammates, current Celtics Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk.
“I can't even remember Game 3 that we lost,” Kidd said. “The big thing is we moved on.”
The Nets won two straight games at the FleetCenter where the Celtics had won 11 in a row before a 94-92 loss last Monday.
In Game 5 in New Jersey on Wednesday night, the Celtics closed another big deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Nets responded with a 20-1 run for a 103-92 victory.
That finishing kick carried over to the clinching game of the series and Kidd played well to the end. He averaged 17.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists in the series, joining Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and Fat Lever as the only players to average a triple-double in a seven-game series.
The Celtics trailed 91-88 on a layup by Rogers with 1:14 to go. Van Horn, who had made just two of seven shots all night, hit his first 3-pointer with 49 seconds left for a 94-88 lead.
“I anticipated the whole play,” Van Horn said. “Fortunately, I was able to knock it down.”
The way the Nets played the final quarter, that was hardly surprising.
Sports Stories
Braves 7, Reds 0
Reds box, runs
Casey feels secure despite trade speculation
Gehrig speech gets an encore
Martinez won't pitch against Yanks
NL roundup
AL roundup
Notes from Friday's games
Richmond 5, Louisville 4
LeBeau calls voluntary workouts a success
Anderson cruises past Scioto
No. 9 hitter lifts Lakota West 4-3
Fort Wayne Northrop sweeps IHSAA girls track championships
Indian Hill, Summit eye lacrosse titles
Madeira leads Summit; game to conclude today
St. X-Milford suspended; game will resume today
Thomas arrives, thrives
Wahl's catch saves McNick
Baseball pairings
Ohio state tennis tournament
Softball pairings
Tennis, Track schedule
Eastern champs finish strong
