Yi Jianlian started hot and then cooled. Brook Lopez didn't get going until midway through the third quarter. But each finished strong enough to boost the Nets to a 94-92 victory against the Miami Heat at London's O2 Arena.

Yi finished with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, opening with a pair of pick-and-pop makes before picking up his third foul less than four minutes in and earning a seat on the bench. Lopez totaled eight points (4-10 FGs) and 13 rebounds, but racked up five misses and three turnovers before dropping a layup through the basket with four minutes left in the third.

"You’re talking about two very young players," Frank said. "When you’re talking about this season, this game served a great purpose: game situation, both teams wanted to win, (they're) dealing with mistakes and yet staying with it. I thought both those guys fighting through mistakes and the whole team supporting them and being together, those are good lessons."

Late in the fourth, the duo teamed up to make a block on Joel Anthony before tipping in a shot on the ensuing possession. Yi, who's late jumper tied the game at 84, showed good chemistry with Vince Carter. The superstar (19 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals) assisted several of the rookie's shots after a backdoor pass led to a Carter dunk for the Nets' second bucket.

Lopez, known for his offense, badly fumbled two of the first three entry passes to come his way. But the 7-footer played well on defense throughout, blocking three shots and twice stealing the ball. And he sunk four of his final five shots.

"I thought he really showed a competitive spirit," Frank said. "They put him in a situation where you’ve got Wade pick and rolls, which is hard for anyone, let alone a rookie. And he kept on staying with it on the defensive end. And then obviously getting some key second shot opportunities and putbacks were huge."

Carter appeared to rile Lopez with an early ... pep talk. Frank explained that was just one example of Carter's leadership, and the team's good communication.

"Our guys, not just in the games, but in practice, have really taken ownership in talking to each other, communicating the message," Frank said. "And many times, when we call a guy over to the sideline, I may be telling him something, but it may also be ‘Look, relay the information to him.’

"It’s the early, early stages, but as we talked about that first day of camp, the first thing to do is lay a foundation and establish some belief and then some trust. It’s a long, long process, but I think our guys have done a great job, and Vnce has done a great job of helping every guy out."

As he continues to sift his bigs in search of a steady rotation, Frank played YI and Lopez while Sean Williams and Josh Boone sat. The question remains, as Frank put it, "You’ve got seven bigs, what are you going to do?"

Evidently, keep trying to figure it out:

"I don’t think there’s any quick solution, and answers may be temporary, because the competition’s fierce," Frank said. "The thing is, you’ve got a lot of guys who can play, which is a positive. You can’t play every one of them. So we’re going to decide who’s going to get the regular minutes and who won’t, but you better be fighting your tail off if you get those minutes to maintain them."

We got our first look at Julius Hodge playing the point when he subbed for Devin Harris. The former first-round pick didn't look comfortable running the show, turning the ball over on back-to-back possessions late in the second, and finishing with no points (0-6 FGs), one assist and four turnovers in 10 minutes.

"Obviously Miami’s going to turn up the heat, and I think Julius was almost a victim of that. This was his first game as a point guard at the highest level. We can’t judge it and say one way or the other. But the good thing is even when things weren’t going well for him, he supported his teammates. That’s life -- things aren’t always going to go your way, but you just come back another day and get better."

Rookies Ryan Anderson (7 minutes) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (14 minutes) each saw a bit of time on the court, with Anderson making a nice third-quarter block on Mario Chalmers, redirecting a shot toward the Nets' bench. Douglas-Roberts shot only 1-of-5 from the floor, but made 3-of-4 free throws.

"Ryan spaced the floor," Frank said. "I thought he had a good possession against Beasley one time that led to a turnover because he fronted the post. I thought Chris, he’s a creative shot-maker. Good experiences to be on ice the whole game, come in at the end of a quarter, and let’s see how he can react."

Now that they're headed back to the States (on a 10 a.m. flight, which means a 7 a.m. wakeup call ... ouch), Frank took a look back on the week-long trip:

"Our staff, when we were talking about it after the game, said that when you look at it, it’s been a very productive week. It’s really a great experience coming out here, but it truly is a business trip. You don’t have any choice to make it anything but a business trip -- it’s either practice, game, meeting, event for the NBA, and then you’ve got to eat your meals. There’s not a lot of free time.

"Our guys, I thought, were very focused, practiced well and spent time together. Both times, when the game was going commitment South, they stayed with it. When you have so many new pieces, as both teams do, good habits are good habits, regardless of whether it’s practice or the exhibition. Not whether you win or lose the game, but you want to exhibit those habits as often as possible and improve them on a daily basis."

Injuries: Eduardo Najera (sprained wrist) and Jarvis Hayes (strained hamstring) were held out along with Keyon Dooling (sprained ankle). Barring setbacks, Dooling is on track to play in Thursday's game against Boston. Vince Carter's hamstring is fully healed.

--Posted by Ben Couch on Oct. 10, 2008 at 7:48 p.m.