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Nets Shoot Knicks Into Submission Oct. 24, 2008 by Ben Couch - NJNETS.COM |
NEW YORK — After nearly giving up a 21-point fourth-quarter lead on Friday at Madison Square Garden, the New Jersey Nets held on to defeat the New York Knicks, 111-110. It was a brutally efficient offensive outing by New Jersey, which shot .519 from the field and .526 from three.
A Jarvis Hayes free throw put the Nets up 21 with 6 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game, but Anthony Roberson nailed a three-pointer 11 seconds later. The trey kicked off a 26-6 closing run by New York, which nailed three more three-pointers during the stretch.
"These were good lessons," said Coach Lawrence Frank. "It’s learning how to play through mistakes and not letting mistakes multiply and not letting momentum take over the game. Obviously, they made a heck of a run with the threes they put together. We got the win, we found a way to win, but this will give us a lot of good teaching lessons: good, bad and just areas to improve."
The Nets' 35-point first quarter was spurred by Bobby Simmons, who nailed three three-pointers, finishing the period with 13 points. That was more than he had scored in any game this preseason; he scored 11 in each of the previous two.
"He really can shoot the corner three, and guys did a great job of finding him," Frank said. "Bobby will be a bit of a barometer of our ball movement, because Bobby’s a finisher in the sense of finishing that shot. When that ball’s moving, we’ll find him, and we found him tonight."
Simmons totaled 16 points, tying Devin Harris for second on the team behind Vince Carter's 20. Carter put up 20 in 26 minutes by nailing seven of 11 field-goal attempts, including a few strong dunks.
Hayes saw his first game action of the preseason, and showed the shooting range he's known for. The 6-8 forward scored nine points in 17 minutes, nailing back-to-back treys during one sequence early in the fourth quarter.
"Shooting is almost like riding a bike, especially when you’re getting attempts," Hayes said. "You can get in a rhythm pretty quick. Especially a player like me, once I get in that rhythm, it keeps me rolling."
Hayes wasn't the only bench player to provide a scoring punch -- Keyon Dooling returned after missing two games to illness, chipping in 13 points (6-10 FGs). And rookie Chris Douglas-Roberts dropped 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 28 minutes.
Brook Lopez started again for Josh Boone, and struggled with his shot (4-13 FGs). But the rookie center sank 6-of-6 free-throws and blocked four shots while only committing one turnover. Boone is expected to return to practice Monday after being cleared to play following "chest discomfort" at last Friday's practice.
