Blazers 82
Nets 73
PORTLAND – OK, it’s official now. This isn’t a real good road trip for the Nets.
As the fatigue of a season sets in and as other teams step up their games prepping for the postseason, the Nets find themselves hurtling in the wrong direction. They lost their third straight on this four-game trip when the NBA’s hottest team, the Trail Blazers, overcame a ghastly turnover total with punishing work off the glass and timely 3-pointers for an 82-73 victory here.
And, oh yeah, the Blazers (38-24) were helped considerably to their 12th straight triumph, the second longest run in team history, by the Nets’ offense going belly up at crunch time. The Nets scored just 14 points in the fourth quarter, going the final 6:30 with just one field goals to finish with their lowest6 point total of the season.
With concerns in all corners, coach Byron Scott, whose troops need a victory in Seattle tonight to salvage something from the trip, provided the lone positive note.
“We left New Jersey in first place and we’ll go back in first place,” said Scott.
But how long can they stay there? The Nets (39-22) failed to capitalize on the losses suffered by Detroit (3½ games back) and Milwaukee (4 back) in the race for the No. 1 spot in the East. And Boston (34-27) is suddenly just five back from the Atlantic lead. The mood, some would say, is one of frustration.
“There’s no mood. We’ve just got to go out and play,” insisted Kenyon Martin (19 points, four rebounds).
“I wouldn’t say that a win [tonight] in Seattle would necessarily save the trip, but it would definitely get us back on the right track,” said Keith Van Horn (12 points), whose nine rebounds were a team high – but hardly made a dent in the Blazers’ overwhelming 47-32 glass superiority where four starters had at least eight boards. “These are some extremely frustrating losses.”
Yup. They played the World Champ Lakers tough. And lost. They should have beaten the Suns. But lost. And then they ran into the hottest team on the planet in a city where they’ve won only three times in their history (but lost 24 times). And of course, lost.
“This is the slowest we’ve played all season,” said Jason Kidd, who had a long pre-game sitdown with Scott – at the coach’s urging – to discuss the direction of the team. “We can’t walk it up and expect to win.”
But they thought about it for a while. Hampered again by the absence of center Todd MacCulloch, who represents their major inside presence, the Nets were nevertheless within five points, 73-68, when Martin scored inside at 6:34. But from there, the Nets managed just one more basket.
Scottie Pippen (12 points) broke loose for a 3-pointer – the Blazers’ fourth trifecta in six minutes (the Nets were 0-of-10 beyond the arc). Rasheed Wallace (18 points) followed with a face-up jumper for a 78-68 lead for Portland. The Blazers, who got 21 points from Bonzi Wells, did not lead by less than eight again.
“They just kicked out butts on the boards,” said Scott, who started Aaron Williams at center over rookie Jason Collins. “We’re running into buzzsaws right now.”