Sports

NETS ROCK AND ROWE

Nets 94 Nuggets 81

DENVER — Team president Michael Rowe has been traveling with the Nets, hoping to spot what’s wrong with the schizoid, underachieving bunch. Last night was very little help. The Nets did everything right.

From Keith Van Horn playing aggressively from the opening tap in a 25-point game, to always reliable Stephon Marbury trampling Denver adversary Nick Van Exel, to recently forgotten Jamie Feick kicking in, Rowe saw the Nets give one of their best efforts. Maybe they got an idea of the “chemistry” problems Rowe sees, problems that will be duly noted when he reports to the owners.

But here at the Pepsi Center, Rowe saw the Nets bust out with a 20-6 second-quarter run and never look back to win on the road for only the second time in 13 tries. They used Van Horn’s offense, 20 points and eight assists by Marbury and 11 boards by Feick for a 94-81 victory over the Nuggets.

“Obviously, there is something wrong,” said Rowe. “When this team can go to Florida and beat two quality opponents back to back or play as it did in Utah, there is a lot of talent. The problem must be a human-relations issue. Maybe it’s how we’re practicing, how we’re traveling, how we’re interacting. It’s a problem of chemistry.”

Rowe has been traveling with the Nets since the All-Star break after issuing his decree that the team’s effort was “unacceptable.” He will watch tonight’s game in Dallas, fly home tomorrow and eventually give his report to co-chairman and principal owner Lewis Katz.

“Hopefully some of the things, based on watching people as an outsider, may be helpful,” Rowe said, declining specifics.

But an outsider, an insider, a creature from Jupiter would have been hard pressed to criticize the Nets last night. McDyess got his 22 points but shot 9-of-24. George McCloud popped in 22 off the bench and Tariq Abdul-Wahad scored 17 for Denver, which lost to the Nets at home for only the fourth time in 27 tries. After that, there was little as the Nets (23-34) stuffed the Nuggets on .333 shooting, holding Van Exel to 1-of-9.

“I was just out there playing, playing my regular defense,” said Marbury who would not touch the theory that he goes at Van Exel especially hard after losing an All-Star berth to him in 1998. “I don’t think that had anything to do with it. He just didn’t shoot the ball well.”

Said Van Exel, “I just got outplayed. Bottom line. If I could have given a little bit [more], we probably would have had a shot at winning.”

Nah, probably not. The Nets found too many weapons. Van Horn was chief among them as he continued a blistering string of individual matchups. After seeing Karl Malone Monday and then McDyess, there’s Dennis Rodman tonight and Tim Duncan Monday.

“I wasn’t any more motivated. I know I have a tough assignment this trip,” said Van Horn, who shot 10-of-20 and, like Feick, took 11 rebounds. “The guys I’m going against are great offensive players and I need to take it at them. Luckily, we got Antonio in foul trouble.”

The foul trouble came in bang-bang fashion, McDyess went out at 4:25 of the first quarter with fouls just seven seconds apart. And when McDyess wasn’t trying to quell Van Horn’s scoring, he was trying to solve Feick’s terrific physical help defense.

So for one night, there were no problems of chemistry or complacency as the Nets moved ahead of Cleveland by half a game, ahead of Atlanta by percentage points and into a tie with Boston.

“We don’t like where we are but we like where we’re going,” said Casey.

A hearing is set for next week before newly appointed grievance arbitrator Roger Kaplan in the Rony Seikaly case. Seikaly, cut last year in preseason, maintains he still was injured when the Nets let him go and thus his $4 million contract was guaranteed. The Nets’ stance is that the cut was made on a skill factor, not injury.