By MIKE LOPRESTI
Gannett News Service

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, left, wrestles for grab the ball with New Jersey Nets forward Kenyon Martin in the first quarter. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

SAN ANTONIO - In two days, the roles switched in the NBA Finals. Where the New Jersey Nets had faltered, they now attacked. Where the San Antonio Spurs had been in unruffled control, they now doomed themselves with sloppy turnovers.

Wednesday's battered loser became Friday's stubborn winner. And what they have now - after the Nets held off the Spurs 87-85 - is a series.

It ended with Stephen Jackson's 3-pointer from the left wing to win for the Spurs rolling out, leaving the series tied 1-1 with the next three games in New Jersey, starting Sunday. After five straight losses going back to last year, the Nets now know what it feels like to win in the NBA Finals.

"We always believe in one another. It's something special this team has," said Jason Kidd, who led the recovery with 30 points. "The big thing is we stopped the streak. We knew we couldn't lose eight in a row."

Added coach Byron Scott, "You're just looking at two teams that have a will to win."

But the winds had changed Friday night. You could tell by the stars.

Kidd was no longer the New Jersey guard who couldn't shoot straight from Game 1. He was the floor general who scored the last seven points of a teetering game.

"He was on attack mode all night long," Scott said.

With a 15-point lead down to 80-79, Kidd hit a runner in traffic with 1:16 left. In the final 20 seconds, he made five of six free throws to keep the Nets just safe enough.

"I don't have to score 30 points for our team to win," he said. "Tonight the ball just happened to go in."

Tim Duncan was no longer the unstoppable Spur, but a struggling shooter in a crowd of Nets, as Scott called for more New Jersey double teams.

Duncan took two more shots than Game 1 but scored 13 fewer points, with 19. He was a ghastly 3 for 10 from the line.

"They just found a way to cut off lanes," Duncan said.

And at the end, he could not produce a MVP finish, to make up for 22 San Antonio turnovers.

With the Spurs' rally in full throttle in the final minutes, Duncan missed two free throws at 3:39 ... had a shot bothered by Jason Collins ... lost a jump ball after Kenyon Martin tied him up with the score 80-79 ... and missed one of two free throws with 24.6 seconds left.

"Our weakness is our free throws and our turnovers," he said. "And we did both of those."

Scott was no longer the New Jersey coach second-guessed for everything but his choice of tie. He was the calm strategist who regrouped his team in 48 hours.

"We never panic," Scott said. "We keep our poise. We keep our composure. We just keep playing."

Gregg Popovich was no longer stoically presiding over a steady winner. He was ripping into his Spurs at halftime - with the Nets ahead 41-35 - telling ABC he had never been more disappointed in the effort of his team.

"He was mad. He was screaming," said Tony Parker, the young guard who led the Spurs with 21 points. "We didn't come out like we wanted to win that game."

"I think we showed a real lack of respect for the situation," Popovich said. "Why did you have that? Hell, I don't know."

Dikembo Mutombo was no longer the forgotten giant on the New Jersey bench. He was the legendary defensive force, playing 20 minutes, blocking three shots, making trouble for Duncan.

"They have to contend," Kidd said, "with Mt. Mutumbo."

"I just want to feel like I'm part of this group," Mutumbo said. "I was not feeling it for a moment. And it was hard for me."

Between Mutombo, Martin and Collins, the Nets sent nearly 21 feet after Duncan.

"One thing we understand, everything they do is going to go through Tim Duncan," Mutombo said. "We made him think twice, sometimes three times, before he made a move out there."

But it was a narrow escape. Jackson had an open look at the end - as Kidd desperately ran past him - and had already hit four 3-pointers. A fifth would have been a stake through the Nets' hearts.

"We almost got lucky at the end," Popovich said. "But they deserved to win the ballgame."

"They're on a high right now," Duncan said.

"We don't want to go home," Mutombo said before the game, "'with the feeling that our backs are against the wall."

They aren't. It's a series.

NETS 87, SPURS 85

	FG	FT	Reb
NEW JERSEY	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	PTS
Jefferson	39	3-10	2-2	1-3	3	3	8
Martin	33	6-16	2-2	3-5	4	5	14
Collins	34	3-6	0-0	1-4	1	2	6
Kidd	42	11-24	6-8	4-7	3	1	30
Kittles	21	3-7	1-2	1-4	1	1	8
Harris	27	5-8	0-0	2-7	1	1	10
Rogers	18	2-8	2-2	2-5	2	4	7
Johnson	6	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	1	0
Mutombo	20	2-3	0-0	1-4	0	3	4
Totals	240	35-83	13-16	15-39	16	21	87

Percentages: FG .422, FT .812.

3-Point Goals: 4-11, .364 (Kidd 2-4, Kittles 1-2, Rogers 1-3, Harris 0-1, Collins 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 14 (12 PTS).

Blocked Shots: 5 (Mutombo 3, Martin 2).

Turnovers: 13 (Kidd 4, Jefferson 3, Kittles, Harris, Martin, Collins, Rogers, Johnson).

Steals: 9 (Kittles 3, Martin 2, Jefferson 2, Harris, Collins).

Technical Fouls: Collins, 3:13 third.

	FG	FT	Reb
SAN ANTONIO	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	PTS
Bowen	26	1-2	0-0	0-5	0	1	3
Duncan	43	8-19	3-10	2-12	3	3	19
Robinson	33	3-6	4-6	4-8	1	0	10
Parker	41	9-17	3-4	1-5	5	3	21
Jackson	40	6-10	0-0	0-2	3	2	16
Rose	19	3-4	1-1	2-3	1	1	7
Ginobili	29	1-6	2-2	4-6	3	4	4
Claxton	7	2-2	1-2	0-0	0	0	5
Willis	1	0-1	0-0	1-2	0	0	0
Kerr	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	2	0
Totals	240	33-68	14-25	14-43	17	16	85

Percentages: FG .485, FT .560.

3-Point Goals: 5-13, .385 (Jackson 4-7, Bowen 1-1, Duncan 0-1, Parker 0-2, Ginobili 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 22 (20 PTS).

Blocked Shots: 7 (Duncan 3, Robinson 2, Jackson, Parker).

Turnovers: 21 (Jackson 7, Duncan 4, Ginobili 3, Rose 2, Bowen 2, Robinson, Parker, Claxton).

Steals: 6 (Robinson 2, Jackson 2, Rose, Ginobili).

Technical Fouls: None.

New Jersey	19	22	25	21	-	87
San Antonio	18	17	21	29	-	85

A-18,797 (18,500). T-2:28.

Officials-Bob Delaney, Bennett Salvatore, Joe Crawford.