Nets Bounce Back to Even Series

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Nets Bounce Back to Even Series
By JOHN ELIGON
Published: April 26, 2006
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., April 25 — Physical play, veteran reliability and back-and-forth basketball were all on display here Tuesday night.

They were elements that were expected in this first-round playoff series between the Nets and the Pacers, and their presence indicated that the teams are, in fact, evenly matched.

About 48 hours after dropping Game 1 on their home court, the Nets, as calm and collected as they sounded on their off day Monday, beat Indiana, 90-75, to even the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

The series moves to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Thursday.

After an abysmal shooting performance in Game 1, Nets swingman Vince Carter came back strong with 33 points, shooting 12 for 20. That was 2 points more than he scored on Sunday in 13 fewer shots.

The deciding factor for the Nets, however, appeared to be their defense. They held the Pacers to 35.4 percent shooting from the field and held Indiana's leading scorer, point guard Anthony Johnson, to 17 points.

The Pacers gave the Nets a bit of a scare early in the fourth quarter by scoring 9 straight points to cut a 20-point deficit to 11. The Nets' first points of the final quarter did not come until 4 minutes 15 seconds into the period, when Carter hit a jump shot.

The Nets virtually put the game away with a 5-0 run that put the Pacers down, 84-71, with 2:30 to play.

Carter wasted no time answering those who criticized his 12-for-33 shooting performance in Game 1, scoring 14 points and shooting 5 for 6 in the first quarter Tuesday night. Three of those five field goals were on layups, and one of them was a long 3-pointer.

With the score tied at 22-22 with 1:23 to play in the first quarter, the Nets held the Pacers scoreless for nearly two minutes to open an 8-point lead.

In attacking the basket throughout the first half, the Nets established an aggressive offense, just as they had in Game 1. But the Nets did not shoot particularly well in the first half, connecting on only 43.6 percent of their shots.

The Nets were excellent on defense, and managed to put a bit of room between themselves and the Pacers. The Nets forced the Pacers to stick to outside jumpers, and Indiana missed 21 of its last 25 field-goal attempts in the first half. The Pacers shot just 32.5 percent from the field in the first two quarters.

The Pacers were hampered in their ability to attack the basket when Jermaine O'Neal went to the bench with 8:58 remaining in the second quarter after picking up his third foul. He did not return until the second half.

O'Neal, who was also plagued by foul trouble in Game 1, picked up his fourth foul a little more than a minute into the second half, but Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle kept him in the game.

While the Pacers' star was struggling, two of the Nets' stars were helping their team extend its lead.

With a pair of jump shots from Richard Jefferson and a pair of free throws from Carter, the Nets scored the first 6 points of the third quarter to go ahead by 14 points. The Nets built on that lead even more in the latter half as the quarter went on, using a 17-5 run to build a 21-point lead.

Carter and Jason Kidd highlighted the run by reversing their roles for an electrifying play. Carter sprinted the ball up the court and delivered a behind-the-back pass to Kidd on the wing. Kidd knocked down the short jumper to give the Nets a 67-50 lead.

Jefferson followed that up with a pair of free throws, and Carter sank a layup that put the Nets ahead, 71-50, shortly before the end of the third quarter.

As the Nets built their big lead, they limited the Pacers' depth.

\"Our success over the last three years has been built on a certain balance,\" Carlisle said before the game. \"articularly, the last couple we've struggled with injuries and missing key people.\" Referring to the backup guard guard Freddie Jones, who scored 15 points off the bench on Sunday, Carlisle said, \"That's part of the formula that gives us a chance.\"

But Indiana was limited on offense to virtually a one-man team through three quarters. Going into the fourth quarter, Johnson was the only member of his team in double figures.

The Pacers were in dire need of all-around contributions on Tuesday night because they were without Peja Stojakovic, who was a late scratch because of a sore right knee. Indiana did get some relief with the return of guard Jamaal Tinsley, who has been battling a sprained right Achilles tendon and did not play in Game 1.

REBOUNDS

Violet Palmer became the first woman to work as a referee in an N.B.A. playoff game. She worked the Nets-Pacers game with the veteran officials Steve Javie and Ken Mauer. ... Nets forward Jason Collins left the game midway through the first quarter after getting a cut under his chin. He got three stitches in the locker room and returned in time for the second quarter. ... Nets Coach Lawrence Frank received a technical foul with 3:30 left in the second quarter. It was Frank's second technical foul in as many games this playoffs.