A scintilating block by Todd MacCulloch set up a dunk by Kerry Kittles with six seconds remaining as the Nets matched their season-high five-game winning streak with a thrilling 99-97 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
 Keith Van Horn scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Spurs. Noren Trotman/NBAE/Getty Images |
With the game tied, 97-97, Steve Smith cut to the basket and appeared to have a clear layup. But MacCulloch swatted the 6-8 Smith's attempt away, leading to a fastbreak.
"I haven't been as aggressive as I should have been coming over, so in a situation like this at the end of the game it just kind of got to me and I had to do something," MacCulloch said. "Right or wrong, foul or no foul, I had to try and make a play."
The ball caromed out to Jason Kidd, who led a picture-perfect 4-on-1 break. Kidd made a bounce pass to Kittles, who went up uncontested for a two-handed dunk that gave the Nets the lead for good.
"Todd came out and made a big block without fouling which is the key, especially down the stretch and then it is 3-on-1," Kidd said. "I saw Smitty (Steve Smith) going in for a dunk and Todd stepped up from the weak side and made a heckuva block.
"Normally they'll get a foul and go to the free-throw line or make a dunk but Todd made a big play and I came back and got the ball. I knew we had numbers, I wasn't looking for a timeout at that point. We got our two points and relied on our defense to stop them and win the game."
Kidd's assist helped cap his third triple-double of the season and 41st of his career. He finished with 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
San Antonio had a pair of chances to send the game into overtime but came up empty. Former Net Stephen Jackson missed a 3-pointer and Malik Rose's fadeaway from the left baseline fell short as time expired.
"There was confusion on the last play, the confusion was because of me," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He (Stephen Jackson) was the first option on the play. We had run it earlier and he got a great shot on it and obviously he got a great shot at it there."
Kittles finished with 22 points and MacCulloch added 18 and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who boast the Eastern Conference's best record (25-11) and are one win shy of matching their total from all of last season.
Tim Duncan netted 27 points and Jackson had a season-high 16 for San Antonio, which has lost two straight following a three-game winning streak.
In what they called a measuring-stick game against one of the top teams in the league, the Nets led for much of the contest and were up by as many 12 points in the second half.
Kittles, who made 9-of-11 shots, scored four straight points to give the Nets their biggest lead at 68-56 with 5:53 left in the third quarter. But behind Jackson, whose previous high for points in a game this season was six, the Spurs climbed back into it.
Jackson scored five points in the final four minutes of the period, including a 3-pointer as time expired in the quarter to pull San Antonio within 76-70. He made 7-of-12 shots from the field.
A layup by MacCulloch with 4:24 still had the Nets in front by six points before Duncan began to take over for San Antonio.
Duncan, who scored at least 20 points for the 17th straight game, made a layup and two free throws around a short jumper by Rose, pulling the Spurs even at 91-91 with 2:09 to play.
Duncan made 10-of-16 shots, doing most of his damage over Keith Van Horn, clearly winning the battle between the top two picks in the 1997 draft. Van Horn finished with just eight points on 4-of-16 shooting and was relegated to the bench in the game's final moments.
A 3-pointer by Smith gave the Spurs a 96-95 lead with 72 seconds left. Kenyon Martin put the Nets back in front 18 seconds later with a spinning jumper before Duncan split free throws to tie it with 36 seconds remaining.
Martin, the top pick in the 2000 draft, finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Rookie Richard Jeffferson added 10 points for the Nets, who shot 48 percent (40-of-84) and held a 45-31 rebounding advantage over the bigger Spurs. San Antonio also shot 47 percent (37-of-79).
Kidd, one of the top points guards in the league, had his way with the Spurs in first half, especially in the second quarter, when he scored 14 points to help the Nets open a 55-46 lead.
Meanwhile, the Spurs lost their point guard early in the second quarter when rookie Tony Parker departed with a sprained right ankle. He scored nine points before leaving.