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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Beating Pat Riley wasn't that difficult for Byron Scott, not with Stephon Marbury controlling things.
|  | | Stephon Marbury has scored 30 or more points in six of the Nets' eight games this season, including 31 Wednesday. |
Marbury broke the 30-point mark for the sixth time in eight games, scoring 31 points to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 93-91 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Marbury also had nine assists and nine rebounds and Aaron
Williams added 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter in giving
Scott a win over his former mentor, Riley.
Scott and Riley hugged and grinned at midcourt seconds after the
game.
"Great job," Riley said.
"Thanks Riles," Scott replied. "I don't think he wanted to talk."
The game featured a great matchup of point guards with Miami's Tim Hardaway nearly matching Marbury, scoring 26 points.
"He's good. He's good," Hardaway said of Marbury.
Anthony Mason, who added 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, said that Marbury is taking advantage of the liberties he's gotten.
"He's a talented player and he has the green light, so you have to applaud him," Mason said.
Neither team led by more than six points in the final period,
which was played like most of the game with the Nets taking the
lead only to see Miami fight back.
New Jersey never trailed after Williams converted a three-point
play for a 77-74 lead with 6:05 to play, but the Heat pulled within
a point or two six times.
Hardaway's fourth 3-pointer cut the Nets' lead to 89-87 with 57
seconds to play, but Marbury hit a driving layup that spun around
the rim before going in with 34 seconds left.
After Mason scored underneath with 21 seconds to go, Marbury
converted two free throws with 19 seconds left.
A layup by Hardaway with 4.6 seconds to play established the
final margin, and the Nets ran out the clock after making the
inbounds pass at halfcourt.
"We had a feeling it was going to come down to a two possession
game and in the end we played defense, got rebounds and made the
plays," Nets guard Lucious Harris said.
"I don't even want to talk about what was the difference,"
Hardaway said of the final minutes. "They had some guys come up
pretty big and they played hard."
Williams wasn't the only member of the Nets' supporting cast to
come up big. Evan Eschmeyer hit a crucial basket as the shot clock
expired with 3:05 to play to give New Jersey an 84-81 lead, and he
added two free throws seconds after that.
Despite playing for the fourth time in six nights, the Heat
found ways to battle back every quarter. The Nets had leads of 10
points in the first quarter, 12 in the second and nine in the
third.
Brian Grant struggled all night, shooting 2-of-14 from the floor
and 9-of-14 from foul line. He sprained his right ankle in the
fourth quarter.
Scott is one of five former Riley players to become an NBA
coach. Magic Johnson, Kurt Rambis, Doc Rivers and Nets assistant
Eddie Jordan are the others.
Game notes
Heat guard Eddie Jones missed the game with a strained
right calf. ... Miami forward A.C. Green played in his 1,118th
straight game, moving him into sole possession of the fifth longest
streak in the four major sports. He passed Billy Williams of the
Chicago Cubs. Cal Ripken holds the longest steak (2,632) follwed by
fellow baseball players Lou Gehrig, Everett Scott and Steve Garvey.
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NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
Mourning says he's making progress in battle with kidney ailment
RECAPS
Boston 116
Washington 109
Philadelphia 107
Cleveland 98
Indiana 92
Detroit 88
Milwaukee 84
Atlanta 74
Minnesota 92
Golden State 90
New Jersey 93
Miami 91
Phoenix 99
Dallas 78
LA Clippers 78
New York 74
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Stephon Marbury is happy to have the support of his teammates.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Byron Scott feels his team needs to improve on the offensive glass.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Nets coach Byron Scott draws comparisons to coaching legend Pat Riley.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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