EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Devin Harris' first play back was a turnover, pass tipped by Chris Duhon into the waiting hands of Al Harrington. But the next trip down the floor, he ran a high-post give-and-go with Brook Lopez, taking the handoff and blowing by both defenders for a layup. When the Knicks came down and missed a three, Bobby Simmons corralled the rebound and hit Harris with the outlet. A few steps downcourt, Harris lobbed an alley-oop to Lopez for his first assist.

The Nets, they missed this. For 10 games, Harris had sat idly – if impatiently – on the sideline as the team's losing streak grew. Yet coming off the bench for 12 points and seven assists Saturday against the Knicks at the IZOD Center, Harris couldn't spark the Nets enough to end the losing streak, which has reached 13 games following a 98-91 defeat.

"Well, I definitely hoped it would end in a win," Harris said. "We're getting closer and closer, but late in the game just can't get the stops that we need to in order to get over the top. Coach (Lawrence Frank) decided to play me in spurts, four minutes apiece. I felt good for the first half, got a little tired in the second half, but tried to fight through it. They're like a beating drum running those pick-and-rolls."

If any doubts remained about Harris' health, they were erased during a three-possession sequence midway through the second quarter. With 3 1/2 minutes left, he nailed a running, right-handed bank shot while moving away from the basket on the right wing. After the Knicks missed a three and rebounded it, Chris Douglas-Roberts (game-high 24 points) stole the ball, running a transition give-and-go with Harris and finishing the play with a layup. The Knicks bricked another jumper, but put back the miss, and Harris responded by executing a double-crossover to split a pair of defenders before tomahawking the ball home.

However, the Nets' most crucial run took place with Harris on the bench. Down 11 late in the third, the Nets reeled off a three-minute, 10-0 spurt that spanned the start of the fourth. Harris exited with Brook Lopez at the line and 1:38 remaining.

Lopez (18 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks) swished two free throws before violently blocking a Duhon layup. Larry Hughes scooped it up and jacked a three that Lopez rebounded, the possesion ending with Douglas-Roberts pulling up for a baseline jumper. Sean Williams entered, and immediately swatted Eddy Curry something ridiculous after staying with the Knicks center on a spin move. Neither team scored in the remaining 40 seconds.

The fourth opened with Trenton Hassell sinking a putback after two offensive boards. Williams then stole it from Curry, leading to a Simmons layup, and then blocked Hughes' floater at the peak of its arc, which set up Douglas-Roberts for two and pulled the Nets within one at 74-73.

"Sean's just been great these past five games after sitting for the majority of the season," Lopez said. "He's come out and hasn't missed a step, has been there mentally, bringing energy and making stops, making plays. He's been there to save my butt, honestly, and having him out there, I can't even explain how important it is to me."

Curry committed an offensive foul, but Rafer Alston missed a go-ahead three – the first of five potentially game-tying or go-ahead baskets that quarter. Each time, Alston or rookie Terrence Williams misfired, despite each having hit shots that pulled the Nets within one or two. The final miss of the five, a Williams three that would have put the Nets up one with 2 minutes, 40 seconds to go, hurt the most – New York scored on the following five possessions (11 points) while the Nets scored only twice (four points).

The Nets were limited at the end because Lopez was playing with five fouls, including one on an apparently spectacular third-quarter block of a Danilo Gallinari dunk attempt (Frank protested vehemently enough to earn a technical), and Sean Williams had fouled out by picking up three in 52 seconds midway through the fourth. Lopez admitted afterward he had allowed the potential of fouling out to affect his aggressiveness, which seemed most apparent when it came to the offensive glass.

"We've won games where other teams have gotten in foul trouble - that's part of the game," Frank said. "You just want them to be intelligent fouls, not knick-knack. Some of the calls can go either way, (like) a moving screen here and there. But the loose ball fouls, you've got to try to stay away from."

<< Back to All Access News