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Slipping away Nets finally get second-half lead but can't hold itPosted: Sunday June 09, 2002 11:38 PMUpdated: Monday June 10, 2002 5:46 AM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- For the first time in the NBA Finals, the New Jersey Nets did almost everything they wanted against the Los Angeles Lakers. It still wasn't enough. Despite getting a 30-point performance from Jason Kidd, 26 from Kenyon Martin and opening a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Nets could not prevent the two-time defending champion Lakers from moving within one win of a sweep with a 106-103 victory Sunday night. "You have to give them credit," Martin said. "They took our best shot. That's why they are champions." Unlike the previous two games, when New Jersey erased most of its big deficits but never got the lead, everything was in place this time for the Nets to get back in the best-of-seven series. However, after opening a 94-87 lead on an ally-oop by Martin with 6:44 to play, the Nets made only four field goals the rest of the way in falling behind 3-0 in the series. No team has ever come back from that kind of hole in the playoffs.
"Nobody has done it, so why not be the first?" said Kidd, who added 10 assists and five rebounds. "You have to give my guys a lot of credit; we never quit. We could have easily got blown out again. "We were down early. Every time we made a run, they responded," Kidd said. "We just kept fighting." When the Nets look back, Game 3 will be a heartache. Kidd, Martin and rookie Richard Jefferson combined to make 10 straight shots from the field in turning a 73-63 deficit into an 84-78 lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The lead was still 94-84 with 6:44 to play when the Lakers showed the upstart Nets why they are a champion. They ran off a 15-4 spurt, taking the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Robert Horry. New Jersey got within two points twice, but each time one of the Lakers superstars came through. Shaquille O'Neal, who again had his way with 35 points, hit a turnaround jumper with just under a minute to play. After Keith Van Horn hit a jumper with 34.4 seconds to go, Kobe Bryant hit a running 9-footer with 19.1 seconds left to make it 104-100. A 3-pointer by Kidd cut the margin to a point with 5.2 seconds left, but Kidd missed a running 3-pointer at the buzzer after Rick Fox restored the three-point lead with two free throws with 3.5 seconds to play. "The better team won tonight," Kidd said. "Great players make great plays when they have to." The Nets, who had been struggling with their shooting, were 43-of-83 from the field (51.8 percent). "It's tough obviously," veteran Nets guard Kerry Kittles said. "Obviously, we are frustrated the way we are playing, not coming out with any wins." Nets coach Byron Scott said the sellout crowd at the Continental Airlines Arena got a chance to see three of the greatest players in the game, and one up-and-coming star.
"All this is is a learning experience for us," Scott said.
"That's all it is, we took a giant step as far as competing
against the best, and they are the best."
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Despite the deficit, Byron Scott and the Nets insist they won't go down without a fight. 
