Lee Lights Up Garden in Win
March 6, 2010
NEW YORK—Saturday at Madison Square Garden, the Nets beat the Knicks, 113-93, after trailing 24-8 early in the game. Devin Harris and Courtney Lee combined for 56 points, shooting 9-of-14 from three-point range, while Brook Lopez added 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Rookie Terrence Williams led a strong performance by the bench, racking up three points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 31 1/2 minutes.
For the full recap, read Adam Zagoria's story on NBA.com: Click Here
Lee Lights Up the Garden In Win
Time ticked off the 24-second clock as Nets guard Courtney Lee caught a pass on the left elbow at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. With the third quarter coming to a close, he scanned for an opening in the Knick defense and found none, instead swinging the ball to Kris Humphries at the near corner of the paint.
Down to the final seconds of the possession, Lee immediately made a ‘V’ cut, stepping toward Humphries and then popping backwards, momentum carrying him deep beyond the three-point line. But the direction change left Lee open, Humphries’ body screening a helpless pair of defenders. Humphries passed as Lee bounced away from him, the ball hitting Lee’s hands 28 feet from the basket, just enough time remaining for a desperation heave.
Up, up it arced, before gravity brought it down against the backboard … and the physics of a ricochet banked it through the net. The ninth of 14 (yes, 14!) three-pointers the Nets nailed in the game, Lee’s triple put the Nets up 11, enough to weather an early fourth-quarter run and beat the Knicks on the road, 113-93.
“Oh, man – I just threw that thing up,” Lee admitted. “I was like, ‘Oh, man, please just hit the rim.’ And then BANK, it went in. It worked out.”
It’s the kind of shot you hit when you’re in the middle of a 25-point, 9-of-16 performance, your third straight game scoring 20-plus. Lee, who finished the game 5-of-7 from deep (four of the more conventional catch-and-shoot variety), admitted as much:
“Once it went in, I was like, ‘Uh oh! Uh oh!’” Lee said, laughing and pushing out the front of his jersey with his thumbs. “But, nah – it was a lucky desperation shot. I just tossed it up there and it was able to go in, so thanks!”
In his first game back since spraining his ankle against the Celtics a week ago, Lee was aggressive early – driving middle around a screen and getting all the way to the rim on his first touch – but didn’t hit his first basket until circling through the paint to swish a catch-and-shoot 19-footer 8 ½ minutes in. Removed shortly afterward, with the Nets trailing by 16, Lee re-entered midway through the second quarter, after the second team had hacked the lead down to 10.
The Nets immediately ripped off a 16-4 run that left them up 46-42, with Lee scoring four straight early in the stretch on a two-dribble pullup and a pair of free throws. That lead change proved to be the game’s last, with the Nets extending it to 56-50 by halftime.
From there, the Nets’ starting backcourt took over the game. Lee and point guard Devin Harris combined for 23 of the Nets 27 points in the third quarter, shooting 3-of-6 from long range and 10-of-17 overall, each adding another nine points in the final period. Harris finished with a game-high 31 points (13-21 FGs, 4-7 3Ps), adding four assists and a steal.
“I found my touch,” Harris said. “I was able to get some shots to go in the second quarter and it kind of carried me through the game. I started off with a couple of layups, couple of free throws and then kind of just found my touch in the game. I have to give credit to Terrence (Williams), his penetration, giving me some wide-open looks got me going. It was really Brook (Lopez) too, commanding the double teams.”
Lee spaced out three triples in the fourth, the dagger coming with 2 ½ minutes to go. Harris spun into the lane from the right wing, drawing two defenders before executing a reverse spin while jumping. Seemingly out of options, Harris wrapped a pass around to the right corner, where a wide-open Lee calmly wetted the three. Nets 106, Knicks 88, and one for the highlight reel.
Grouping this game with the last two Lee played in (against Boston and Portland), Lee is shooting 27-of-46 (.587) and 11-of-14 (.786) from three-point range. He credited assistant coaches
Knowing he just completed his best month of the season, Lee fought hard to return quickly, with an eye on playing against his former team, the Orlando Magic, on Friday. But with that game the first of a back-to-back, and a third looming on Monday in Memphis, athletic trainer
“Yeah, I tried to talk him out of it,” Lee said with a smile, pregame. “We got in an argument almost, but I respect Timmy, so I had to slow my roll.”
Bench Boosts Nets Past Early Struggles
The Nets got off to a slow start – the Knicks opened the game on a 24-8 run – while Devin Harris and Brook Lopez went to the bench with two fouls each, forcing the bench to play a prominent role, moreso when starting power forward Yi Jianlian suffered a high ankle sprain late in the quarter.
But the second unit, a small lineup featuring Keyon Dooling, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Terrence Williams, Jarvis Hayes and Kris Humphries, whittled the lead down to 10 by the end of the quarter, setting the stage for the Nets’ game-deciding second-quarter run once Harris and Lee returned. For the game, the Nets’ bench outscored the Knicks’ bench, 32-22, led by 10 points from Humphries and nine from Hayes (3-6 3Ps).
One contributor stood out in particular – rookie swingman Williams. Despite scoring only three points (1-4 FGs), Williams racked up 11 rebounds and seven assists while serving as an offensive catalyst. Playing alongside Harris for extended stretches, Williams often brought the ball upcourt or initiated the offense, his ability to penetrate drawing attention away from the shooters spacing the floor. With the Nets knocking down 50 percent of their shots for the game (and 24-of-50 outside the paint), lanes were left open for him and Harris to exploit time and again.
“Oh yeah,” Hayes said. “Anytime you stick guys that can knock down shots around Devin and Terrence – guys that can get into the lane virtually at will – the defense is not going to sit and wait on it. They have to guard us on the perimeter; they didn’t tonight, and those guys got into the lane all night.”
The starters appreciated the boost offered by the bench players, especially in light of the early struggles.
“The second team was huge for us,” Harris said. “We got off to a very lethargic start. I got into foul trouble, brook got in foul trouble. But we had some guys, Hump and (Keyon) and those guys come in and did a great job getting us back into the game, got it below 10. In the second quarter, we took advantage of transition and some miscues, turnovers that we turned into points.”
Though Yi didn’t return to the game, X-rays were negative and he was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain that will keep him out indefinitely. He said it’s hard to gauge the injury right now, and it will be interesting to see who coach and GM Kiki Vandeweghe starts against Memphis on Monday. With quickly developing second-year center Marc Gasol and All-Star forward Zach Randolph in the opposing frontcourt, it would be difficult to go small against Memphis, meaning Humphries or Josh Boone should get the call alongside Lopez.
