NET NOTES
Kenyon Martin planted and wanted to go up. Instead, he went down. Hard.
And the Nets’ stomachs went with him. Martin lay on the ground, writhing in pain as the clock stopped just 19 seconds into the second half.
Martin made the basket, but that certainly didn’t matter. Center Todd MacCulloch still has three games to go before he’s even eligible to come off the injured list with his bum left foot.
The Hornets had already pushed them around for a half, clobbering them on the boards. Martin eventually arose and limped to the locker room. Maybe the curse of the Meadowlands was back.
“To see him not moving was scary. I almost had a heart attack,” said Keith Van Horn.
But Martin returned and maybe brought some energy with him because the Nets did a U-turn after a shockingly lethargic first half and played with grit and resolve – and their best comeback of the season – rallying from 23 down for a 95-93 victory.
“That stuff hurt,” said Martin, able to laugh afterwards. “It was my ankle. I rolled it before I even got off the ground. At first, I couldn’t move but it got a little better, I came in got taped and ran up and down the hall a little. It was still throbbing as I was playing.”
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There were so many big plays yesterday. But in the end, maybe the biggest came with rookie Richard Jefferson contributing at both ends. He blocked Jamal Mashburn, saw Jason Kidd get the rebound and then sped out. Kidd flung a long pass and Jefferson eventually fed Lucious Harris for the score that gave the Nets the lead for keeps.
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If the Nets go just 12-15 in their last 32, they’ll finish with 50 victories for the first time.