Deadly droughts

Second, fourth quarters doom Nets to defeat in Game 3

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Ticker) -- If there is one positive the New Jersey Nets can take from Game 3 of the NBA Finals, it's that they nearly won despite two terrible quarters.

Despite a disastrous second period, the Nets took control in the second half before faltering down the stretch en route to an 84-79 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at Continental Airlines Arena.

After jumping to a 21-15 edge in the opening quarter, New Jersey saw its lead and efficiency evaporate in the second, when it managed just nine points on 4-of-14 shooting.

The Nets did not attempt a free throw in the period and committed seven of their 20 turnovers.

"We knew the second quarter was terrible for us," guard Lucious Harris said. "It's pretty ugly. We played pretty badly."

San Antonio switched to an effective zone in the second quarter, taking away outside shots for New Jersey, which struggled to score driving to the basket against 7-footers Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

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"It's frustrating, to a certain extent," said Nets guard Kerry Kittles, who scored 21 points. "We were trying to move the ball against their zone, but they did a good job of matching up against us and contesting jump shots. Then, if you put the ball on the floor and try and drive in the paint, you have a tough shot over 7-footers."

"They force you to drive and take away the 3-point shot," New Jersey forward Richard Jefferson added. "But we play against zones all year and you need to find ways to be effective."

With Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin resting, the Nets struggled at the start of the second period. They managed just four points before their two best players returned with 6:22 remaining in the first half.

Their return could not awaken the Nets' offense, which went scoreless for three minutes before Martin buried a turnaround jumper with 4:04 remaining.

New Jersey made just one basket in the final four minutes of the half -- a 3-pointer by Kittles with 2:21 to go -- but still was within 33-30 at the break.

After resurrecting their offense with 27 points in the third period, the Nets returned to their second-quarter form in the fourth, making just 7-of-20 shots while committing seven turnovers.

"We got into our style in the first quarter. Obviously, in the second quarter, we didn't," coach Byron Scott said. "In the third quarter, we got into it a little bit. Fourth quarter, we just never could sustain it. I don't know what the reason is, to be honest."

The Nets scored a respectable 21 points in the final 12 minutes but had just two during a five-minute span that helped San Antonio turn a two-point deficit into an 11-point lead. They missed numerous layups in the paint that could have pulled them within striking distance in the final minutes.

New Jersey also recovered to pull within two on a dunk by Aaron Williams with 1:43 remaining but scored just four points thereafter on a pair of desperation jumpers by Kittles and Martin.

The Nets scored 21 points on the fast break and added 16 off 14 offensive rebounds. But both numbers could have been higher if they hadn't squandered numerous easy attempts under the basket.

"We were getting the shots, but we just didn't knock them down," Harris said. "We just kept missing layups."

Kidd, who excels at driving to the basket, had trouble making the tough shots he pulled off in Game 2 in leading the Nets to a win. He made just 6-of-19 shots and often misfired in the paint.

"I had some great looks; unfortunately they didn't go down for me tonight," he said. "I just had some layups and wide-open looks that just didn't go down."

Those wasted chances may have cost New Jersey a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals and made Wednesday's Game Four an opportunity it cannot afford to lose.

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