Nets 100
Bulls 84
In the World According to the Nets, Circa 2004-05, there seems to be one overriding commandment: Thou Shalt Not Do Anything Easy. So after a superb team effort on both ends led to a 17-point lead and command most of the game, the Nets hit one of their trademark lulls.
They missed shots. The Bulls rallied. The lead dwindled to seven. The Bulls had ample chances to get it to five.
“It seemed like the score was stuck on 77-70 for two hours,” said coach Lawrence Frank.
Finally, two guys who were instrumental in establishing control early, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, stepped up huge. And they got some help – a critical hustle play by Travis Best, who in turn received an assist from good old Lady Luck.
After Best chased down a loose ball, his pass slipped – but went straight to Kidd who in turn fed Carter for a resounding dunk. That was just one highlight in a critical 13-4 explosion that cast aside all doubt and brought the Nets to a 100-84 win and a season sweep of the Bulls at the Meadowlands while keeping their playoff hopes very much alive.
“We set the tone early. We came out we were aggressive. We played like we had something to play for,” said Kidd, who flirted with a triple-double, amassing 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight of the Nets’ 29 assists against the Eddy Curry-less Bulls (32-30). “We felt we had the game under control throughout. At 77-70, in this league you know teams are going to make a run.”
After the Bulls – who got 15 points from both Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon but just seven from Kirk Hinrich, who sat the fourth with a sore hamstring – got to within seven, it was a Kidd rebound that signaled the end for Chicago.
The Bulls three times failed to cut it to five and on their last try, Kidd rebounded and raced the length of the floor for a driving scoop (but he missed a three-point play FT). After two Gordon free throws, the break-out came. Kidd unleashed a long lob to Carter (30 points) for a dunk. Then Best ran down a Gordon turnover, beating Chris Duhon to the sideline. He tried to pass to Kidd.
“The ball came loose. I saw it and made a dash for it. I knew a collision was on the way,” Best recalled. “I was able to get to it and went to throw it over my head. I thought JKidd was just going to run up the floor, but fortunately the ball slipped out of my hand, went straight up and came to him.”
Kidd then slipped a pass to Carter for another resounding dunk and an 83-72 lead with 5:12 left.
“A momentum-changing play,” Frank allowed.
The victory leaves the Nets 2½ games behind Orlando in the race for the eighth spot. The Nets remained four games behind Indiana.
“We have to worry about ourselves and the job we need to do,” said Carter. “If we worry about ourselves and our business, everything else will take care of itself.”