LOS ANGELES – You just hope the Nets were paying close attention last night because there were inalienable truths that were proven throughout the game.
Never judge a team by its first half. The Nets started the game with the zest and fervor of wet cardboard. They ended it in entirely different fashion. What happened? Little things. Like defense and offense.
And somewhere, Yogi is smiling because if ever there is undeniable proof that it ain’t over until it’s over or until fat Elvis leaves the building singing, this was it.
And lastly, the Nets can take a punch.
“Our team is starting to get some fight,” Richard Jefferson assessed after the Nets survived for a wild 102-100 victory over the Lakers. “JKidd said it best and I wouldn’t disagree. He said our team had a glass jaw about a week ago. Teams would hit and guys would fall down.”
Well, they got back up here. The Nets fell behind by 14, went up 12, and then trailed again before surviving for the victory, their third consecutive, to close their road trip at 3-1 after a dismal start and to get them to .500 overall at 7-7.
“Our guys showed a lot of grit in the second half,” coach Lawrence Frank said. “Our guys didn’t break.”
And to paraphrase a statement from the Nets’ captain at the start of their trip right before the los ing streak hit six games, the Nets didn’t let go of the rope.
“Good state ment, we didn’t let go of the rope,” said Jason Kidd (15 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds, two steals – but eight turnovers). “In the second half everybody pitched in and helped. Defensively that was where we turned the game.”
But the Nets had to withstand the fury of a Kobe Bryant-led comeback. Bryant (31 points) was turned into a passer primarily in the first half – and he was 3-of-16 shooting after three-quarters through the work of Antoine Wright (“I just kept forcing him to the help,” Wright said). In the fourth, though, Bryant awoke and was 4-of-5.
After the Nets forged a stunning 26-point turnaround, to go from 14 down to a 91-79 lead with 4:44 remaining, Bryant led the charge. He had a pair of 3-pointers and a three-point play in a span of 2:24.
“He shot one three at the top of the key and one from Orange County,” Kidd said, jokingly.
And the Lakers (7-6) twice took the lead in the endgame. At 1:28, they went up two when Sasha Vujacic bagged a 3-pointer. And with 41.8 seconds remaining, they squeezed ahead by one when Derek Fisher (20 points) made two free throws.
Everybody pitched in. On this night, the Nets had big games from Richard Jefferson (27 points), Vince Carter (19 off the bench), Bostjan Nachbar (15 points) and Sean Williams (six points, seven rebounds, three blocks) whose game-changing energy helped ignite the defense which ignited the offense.
Nachbar, with 28 seconds left, and Carter, with 07.2 remaining, each hit a pair of free throws and the Nets held a 101-98 lead. Out of a timeout, the Lakers got the ball to Bryant who was fouled by Kidd to prevent a 3-point shot. But the refs ruled Bryant was in the act so he got three free throws with 6.1 left. Good. Good. Miss – his one miss in 16 free throw tries.
Net ball. Nachbar was fouled – and he went to the line with 03.8 left. Good. Miss. The Lakers rebounded. After a timeout, Sasha Radmanovic’s shot hit the side rim and the Nets were winners.
“This tells us we don’t give up when things are bad,” Nachbar said. “Not just the road trip, but in this game.”
Nets 102 Lakers 100