As Carter struggles, playoffs slipping away from N.J.

	Vince Carter and the Nets have never had a good handle on the series, dropping the first two games to the Cavaliers. Bob Rosato/SI

CLEVELAND -- May I have your attention, please: Will Vince Carter please report to the gate immediately. The second round is about to depart with you.

After Tuesday's 10-of-26 performance in the Nets' 102-92 loss to the Cavaliers, Carter is now 17-for-49 in this series. This doesn not fully illustrate the demoralizing impact upon his New Jersey teammates as they watched their best scorer settle for fallaway jump shots while at the other end LeBron James (36 points, 12 assists) was shouldering past them as rudely as a skier through the slalom gates.

And yet with two minutes remaining, the Nets were trailing Game 2 at Cleveland by a surmountable 93-89 just two days after the frustration of an 81-77 opening loss. Bluntly put, the No. 6 Nets might have stolen both games in Cleveland if only Carter had won his matchup over the heretofore neglected Sasha Pavlovic.

The Nets need Carter to perform every bit like an eight-time All-Star playing for a new contract because they're being clobbered on the boards. This time, they were outrebounded 19-3 on the offensive glass by the Cavaliers, who attempted 20 more shots to compensate for New Jersey's superiority (52.3 percent to 44.7 percent for Cleveland) from the field. "They're just kicking our tail,'' said Nets coach Lawrence Frank.

The Nets began Game 2 with a firm grip on the tempo in hope of evening the series, but after Kidd sat for a rest at the end of the first quarter they relinquished control. In the meantime, Drew Gooden (14 rebounds), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (nine) and Anderson Varejao (nine) were swarming the glass like sack-happy defensive ends and tackles piercing the line.

With 20,562 noisy fans behind them, the No. 2 Cavaliers look like they're building toward an inevitable conference final with the No. 1 Pistons. Cleveland has now won 10 in a row including four victories to end the regular season. James is dominating his elders as if they were rookies, getting his points while balancing double-figure scoring for all of his fellow starters. "This is the biggest challenge for us now,'' he said, looking ahead to Game 3 in New Jersey on Saturday.

More had been expected of Carter after he had to hear Pavlovic being lauded for holding him to a 7-for-23 performance in the opener. In the final minutes of the third quarter, the 23-year-old Serb was outscoring Carter 14-13, and in the final analysis Pavlovic (13-of-24 for 32 points overall) is having the more effective series. Though Carter continued to hoist attempts in spite of his continuing difficulties, he was not aggressive so much as he was stubborn.

"They're doing a great job of loading guys," said Carter, who collapsed with a momentary leg cramp while missing a fallaway baseline jumper that would have brought New Jersey within a bucket entering the final two minutes. "Once I hit some shots, it will change things a little bit.''

If not, then a few trips to the free-throw line might be just helpful. In either case he needs to hurry.