Harris Hot, But Bogut & Bucks Beat Nets
February 10, 2010
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Despite a blizzard, the Nets hosted the Bucks on Wednesday at the IZOD Center. Leading 26-20 after one, the Nets were unable to maintain the lead, letting it slip to a 44-44 halftime tie before the Bucks won going away. Despite 27 points and 9 assists from Devin Harris, the Nets were unable to snap a losing streak that extends to eight games with Wednesday's 97-77 loss.
For the full recap, read Bob Considine’s story on NBA.com: Click Here
Harris Hot Again, But Bucks Don't Cool Off
Wednesday night at the IZOD Center, Devin Harris’ final line looked like one from last year: 27 points (9-17 FGs), three rebounds, nine assists and 10 trips to the charity stripe.
And there were moments when the Nets' point guard looked like the All-Star he was that season: the first-quarter bailout jumper as the 24-second buzzer rang out; the second-quarter drive, pull-it-back, spin-into-a-J swish; the third-quarter, out-of-options runner/alley-oop to Brook Lopez for a flush; and the four points in 20 fourth-quarter seconds, jump shot and two free throws one final attempt to close a gap grown to 18.
But Harris was the only Net able to score more than 11 points or shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, also tallying a game-high five turnovers. The Bucks beat the Nets, 97-77, in the teams' final game before the All-Star Break.
"I think this team has competed well the past eight games or so, but tonight, (in) the second half, we just did not have it," said Nets coach and GM Kiki Vandeweghe. "I think it was across the board. You know, Devin tried to get us going a little bit, Courtney (Lee), a little bit. But other than that, we just struggled and there’s no other way to put it."
The Nets were stymied inside all evening, as typically outstanding second-year center Brook Lopez (9 points, 3-6 FGs, 6 boards) was frustrated on both ends by Andrew Bogut (22 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks), and ended up finishing with fewer than 10 points and 10 rebounds for the first time since a 27-minute stint in a blowout loss to Denver on November 24th. Fellow big Yi Jianlian rebounded well — racking up 10 by halftime and totaling 12 — but shot only 4-of-14, scoring nine points and missing six times at the rim. The Bucks ended the game with a 48-26 advantage on points in the paint.
It was a marked difference from the effective offense and tightened D displayed by the Nets for much of the last two weeks, dating back to the 116-83 loss at Utah on January 23rd. The team has allowed only two of nine opponents since to score more than 100 points; seven of the previous eight scaled the century plateau. Wednesday night, the Bucks shot .500 from the field, .429 from three-point range and assisted 28 of 43 baskets.
And yet Harris tried mightily to carry the squad, notably scoring four points and dishing two assists (and nearly two others) during a 10-2 run to tie the score at the end of the first half. In four games since returning from a five-game layoff due to a sprained wrist, Harris has averaged 20.8 points and 9.2 assists while shooting .440 from the field — numbers comparable to those from last year's breakout campaign. After Wednesday's game, the point guard attributed the boost to health, despite a shoulder sprain that kept him out of the previous night's contest in Cleveland.
"I'm just going out there and seeing how the defense is playing," Harris said. "We try to take advantage of it. We’re still an inside team; I think we have great inside players, and we want to feed off them. With the way they’ve been playing, it’s given me a lot of little bit more opportunity to go out and get into the paint a little more often."
Snow, But No Schedule Change
Tonight marked the sixth Nets home game during a major snowstorm in the last seven seasons, including the December 18th game against the Lakers, when the area received more than 10 inches from a Category 3 snowstorm. With more than 10 inches falling Wednesday, the actual crowd at the IZOD Center fell short of the announced 12,873 fans, though a surprising number of ultra-dedicated denizens packed the courtside sections for an up-close view of the action.
"It’s interesting," Vandeweghe said, pregame. "If you’re at this level, you’ve played in all kinds of circumstances: big gym, small gym, packed gym, empty gym. You’re coming to work; you need to come and be professional. Everyone wants to play in front of a full house, but it doesn't always happen. We’ve got a snowstorm, and it’s going to be tough for people to get here, but it doesn’t mean you come with any less energy or effort."
Small forward Jarvis Hayes said he hadn’t played in front of so few people since his first year of college at Georgia, and commented pregame that "It’ll be tough. You’ve got to find it from somewhere. We’ve got to create our own energy."
They did, finishing the opening period with a 26-20 lead, and going into halftime tied at 44. But the Nets faltered in the third as the Bucks won going away.
The last Nets game postponed due to weather was on Jan. 17, 1996, when the Nets were scheduled to take on the Hawks, but the "Blizzard of ’96" dumped nearly four feet of snow during a four-day period.
NOTE: Fans in possession of used or unused tickets to Wednesday's game should contact the Nets Ticket Sales Department at (800) 7NJ-NETS or tickets@njnets.com to exchange their tickets for tickets to the Friday, February 19th match-up against the Raptors (8 p.m.) or the Sunday, Feburary 21st game against the Grizzlies (6 p.m.)
When exchanging tickets please note that the IZOD Center Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and is closed Saturday and Sunday unless there’s an Arena event.
Lopez Makes USA Basketball Cut
Brook Lopez was excited to be named among the 27 players who will be considered for USA Basketball's Men's National Team during the upcoming three-year cycle, which encompasses the FIBA World Championship in 2010 and the 2012 Olympics in London, upon qualification.
Lopez called it an honor, saying that playing for the National Team had been a lifelong dream, along with establishing an NBA career. But the 22-year-old showed sharp focus, maintaining his attention was on the here-and-now.
"It’s a nice personal achievement, but everyday my job is in the NBA, so I’m more focused on that and helping this team win," Lopez said, pregame.
Team executives expressed pride in their young center's achievement, along with hope that he fully realizes his goal to wear red, white and blue in international competition sometime during the next three years.
"On behalf of the Nets organization, I want to congratulate Brook on his selection as one of the finalists for the team," said Nets President Rod Thorn. "It would be a great honor to represent your country, and we wish Brook the best of luck in his quest to achieve that goal."
