Bucks bounce back

After dismal Game 1, backcourt responds to beat Nets

Michael Redd had trouble with his jumper, but found life easier around the basket. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The Milwaukee Bucks fixed all their Game 1 mistakes except for one, which was just good enough to get a win.

Gary Payton had 22 points, Sam Cassell added 21 and the Bucks overcame three missed free throws in the final 10.4 seconds and 11 botched foul shots among 20 attempts to defeat New Jersey 88-85 Tuesday night and even their first-round series at one game apiece.

"I'd rather we have just one problem than as many as we had after the first game," Toni Kukoc said.

Payton and everyone around him had a much better game than they did in the series opener, when Milwaukee fell behind by as many as 31.

SI.com's Marty Burns The T’wolves wanted to make the Lakers run. The Bucks wanted to make the Nets walk. Both got what they wanted Tuesday night in Game 2 of their respective playoff series. As a result, they’re both still standing. • Click here for more.

This time, it was the Bucks who thrived on the fast break, dictated the tempo and played determined defense to seize the home-court advantage heading into Game 3 Thursday night at Milwaukee.

"That other game was a blowout because we didn't come to play. Today we came to play, and this is the way playoff basketball should be -- tit-for-tat, going back and forth, and giving the fans a good game," Payton said.

Milwaukee finished at 45 percent from the line after shooting only 50 percent in Game 1. The Nets outrebounded the Bucks 45-34, but Payton and Cassell more than made up for it by carrying Milwaukee's offense in a game in which there were 30 lead changes and 18 ties, and neither team led by more than five points.

The Bucks still couldn't stop Kenyon Martin, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds, but they prevented Jason Kidd from again dominating the point guard matchup, and they limited the Nets to just nine fast-break points.

"I don't think we're ever going to be equal with them in rebounding, so we'll just have to make up for it in some other part of the game," Bucks coach George Karl said.

Martin scored on a putback with 11.1 seconds left to cut the Bucks' lead to 86-85, and Jason Collins fouled Cassell before the Bucks inbounded the ball. Cassell made the free throw, and Milwaukee retained possession.

Tim Thomas was fouled intentionally with 10.4 seconds left, but he missed both free throws. A 78-percent foul shooter during the regular season, Thomas went just 3-for-8 from the line.

New Jersey, old building NBA commissioner David Stern said Tuesday that he hopes New Jersey officials make a decision soon regarding plans to build a sports arena in downtown Newark. "I don't think it's an emergency situation," Stern told reporters before the New Jersey Nets played the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series at Continental Airlines Arena. • Click here for more.

"It was really nerve-racking, and it made the game a lot more tense than it had to be," Desmond Mason said.

The Nets inbounded to Kidd, who dribbled right, spun left and tried an 18-footer that hit the rim and missed. Desmond Mason grabbed the rebound and was fouled, missing the first and then making the second to keep New Jersey in it. But on the final play, Rodney Rogers tripped over Payton's foot while running to catch Lucious Harris' inbounds pass. The Bucks picked up the loose ball as the final buzzer sounded.

Payton let everyone know right away that he wouldn't have a repeat of his offensive struggles in Game 1, when he was held scoreless for the first 43 minutes. Payton connected on his first three shots -- a jumper, a runner and a turnaround -- as Milwaukee stayed right with the Nets from the beginning.

The Bucks found a way to repeatedly get Kidd to switch to Thomas in the low post, and Thomas used his height advantage to score three consecutive times over Kidd. The first quarter ended in a 26-26 tie, with Payton scoring 10 and Kidd committing four turnovers.

With Milwaukee taking away the fast break, Kidd didn't get untracked offensively until late in the second quarter. He weaved through three defenders to feed Aaron Williams for a dunk at the end of the second quarter to produce a 49-49 deadlock at halftime.

"I don't think we wanted to slow the game down. What I call it is a smart tempo," Karl said. "But when we get back to Milwaukee, we're going to run up and down with them."

The Nets took their first lead of the fourth quarter with 5:26 left on Martin's jump hook. New Jersey held the lead until Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 2:57 left to put the Bucks up 82-81. Kukoc followed with a steal, leading to a breakaway layup by Cassell.

Kidd's jumper with 2:24 left made it a one-point game, but Kukoc answered with a post-up basket, and the Nets had two turnovers and two missed shots among their next four possessions.

Notes: Kidd landed on top of his 4-year-old son, T.J., while chasing a ball out of bounds late in the fourth quarter. T.J. was reduced to tears, but he seemed OK by the time New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey checked on him a few minutes later during a timeout. Kidd said the team doctor was checking his son after the game. ... Nets reserve C Dikembe Mutombo played only eight minutes, sitting out the entire second half. ... Thomas and Joel Przybilla replaced rookie Marcus Haislip and Ervin Johnson in Milwaukee's starting lineup.

 

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