Nets 92 – Lakers 89
The only crime in Nenad Krstic’s tap-in with :13.1 left on the clock was that there was :13.1 left on the clock. The Nets had a three-point lead, but the Lakers had Kobe Bryant. To avoid overtime, the Nets needed their best stand of an already good defensive night.
And that is just what they got.
The Lakers – surprise – looked to Bryant. Jason Kidd, who overcame another nightmare shooting performance by playing standout defense on Bryant, started the play. The ball came to Brian Cook, went to Luke Walton, who went to Kobe. Vince Carter switched and picked up L.A.’s superstar.
“I was trying to deny him as long as possible,” Carter said afterward. “I definitely was trying to deny for at least eight seconds and make it a tougher shot, push him out as far as I could and just stay down. . . . If he makes it, he makes it.”
He missed. Bryant launched the ball from about 30 feet but found only air, and the Nets celebrated their fourth straight victory, a thrilling 92-89 triumph at the Meadowlands that provided a two-game season sweep of the Lakers.
“They made a great read defensively,” Bryant said, noting that Nets coach Lawrence Frank “sent out all the smalls so they were able to switch everything, and that kind of took the play away from us.”
Frank dubbed the Lakers’ attempt the “What the [Bleep]” play, which, he said, “they’ve been running forever.” That includes twice when the Nets defeated the Lakers in Los Angeles in November.
Now if you had figured Bryant (24 points) would be the leading scorer, you’d have guessed logically. If you selected Carter (24 points), you’d be reasonable. But either way, you’d be wrong. Krstic (26 points on 11-of-15 shooting) led all scorers last night, complementing Carter and Richard Jefferson (16 points).
This was another night about defense for the Nets; specifically, the job the did against Bryant (9-of-24 shooting), the NBA’s leading scorer. Carter, Jefferson and Kidd all had their turn, but Kidd was special.
“Ability without respect sometimes is nothing and he gets the respect and has ability,” Jefferson said of the Nets’ captain. “JKidd: he’s All-League Defense.”
Kidd (5 points on 2 of 12 shooting, 14 assists), though, was All-Nightmare offense. He got his first field goal after an 0-of-14 shooting drought that covered 67 minutes and three games when drove with 8:36 left. But he would eventually hit one of the biggest baskets of the night: a crushing 3-pointer at 2:08 that gave his team an 88-83 lead.
The Lakers would not go away and eventually, a 3-pointer from Fordham’s Smush Parker made it 90-89. Carter then drove and missed, and Krstic had his lefty tap.
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Rehabbing Jeff McInnis suffered a setback when an MRI revealed he bruised his surgically repaired left knee. McInnis is limited to pool work for a week. “I shouldn’t have been running on the treadmill; I should have been in the water,” said McInnis. “I’ve got to sit out for like a week.”