New Jersey 102, Indiana 91
Nets return the favor to earn split
At New Jersey | Feb. 23, 2008
A big game from a young point guard. Explosive performances from both wing players. Solid defense in the second half.
The formula worked so well for the Pacers in a 10-point victory over New Jersey Friday night, the Nets figured they'd give it a try.
With Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter combining for 60 points, Marcus Williams dishing a career-high 13 assists, and the defense limiting Indiana to .398 shooting, including 9-of-29 from the arc, the Nets returned the favor with a 102-91 victory Saturday night in the Izod Center to split the home-and-home back-to-back set with the Pacers.
The seventh-place Nets (25-31) re-established a three-game lead over the 11th-place Pacers (22-34) in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Indiana surged late, cutting a deficit that had been as large as 13 in the third quarter to five late in the fourth, but the Pacers missed their final five shots.
"We got our tempo back, which is the reason we won last night, we just couldn't knock down the open shots we had," said Pacers Coach Jim O'Brien. "Maybe we were a little leg-weary on back-to-back games. It's always difficult for us to stop Carter and Jefferson, they're a heck of a wing one-two punch. When they isolate Carter or isolate Jefferson, we have a tough time keeping them in front of us."
Jefferson scored 26 of his season-high 36 in the second half, including 17 in the third quarter when the Nets opened a double-digit lead. Jefferson scored 12 in a 14-5 run that made it 64-51 early in the third and the Pacers fought an uphill battle the rest of the night.
With Danny Granger heating up to score 11 of his 29 in the fourth quarter, the Pacers closed to 96-91 on a Granger 3-pointer with 2:24 left but would get no closer. They came up with defensive stops on the next two possessions but Granger missed twice in a row as the Pacers couldn't capitalize.
Mike Dunleavy scored 19 for the Pacers, who were badly outrebounded 57-33 as the Nets racked up advantages of 40-26 on points in the paint and 16-7 on second-chance points. Troy Murphy scored 13 and Kareem Rush 10.
Carter scored 18 of his 24 in the first half. Williams added eight points and seven rebounds to his solid all-around performance and Josh Boone had 19 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
The first half was close throughout with 11 ties and eight lead changes. The Pacers used a 15-5 run early in the second quarter to take their biggest lead, 39-31, but the Nets quickly countered with a 15-4 burst and wound up with a 50-46 lead at the break.
Noteworthy …