|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Tuesday, Mar. 28 7:30pm ET
Pacers' Miller ejected in fourth | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The latest joke about the New Jersey Nets is that no lead is too big to lose. Against Indiana on Tuesday, a 21-point fourth-quarter lead almost wasn't enough, even with Pacers All-Star guard Reggie Miller in the locker room after being ejected.
Keith Van Horn and Stephon Marbury hit key baskets down the stretch to prevent another giveaway as the Nets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 111-106 victory on Tuesday night. Van Horn finished with 30 points and Marbury added 28 and 10 assists as the Nets extended the Pacers' losing skid to three games, matching their longest of the season. "This was a necessary game for us to go on after a difficult weekend," said Nets coach Don Casey, whose team blew an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead in a loss to Denver on Sunday. "This was another close game for us. We withstood the challenge and D'd it up at the end." Jalen Rose had 27 points and Austin Croshere added 15 and 10 rebounds for Indiana, which lost Miller after he picked up two technicals in the opening three seconds of the fourth quarter. He had 13 points in 30 minutes. "It didn't matter that much, he wasn't playing that well," Pacers coach Larry Bird said of Miller's ejection. Miller wasn't in the locker room after the game. With Rose and Croshere leading the way, Indiana wiped out all but one point of New Jersey's lead, getting within 97-96 after a drive by Rose with 3:49 to play. Marbury then hit two free throws and Kendall Gill drew a charge on Pacers guard Travis Best. Van Horn sandwiched a jumper and a 3-pointer around a 3-pointer by Rose to give New Jersey a 104-101 lead. Lucious Harris and Croshere traded baskets, but Sam Perkins of Indiana missed a jumper with 39 seconds to play. Marbury then hit a floater in the lane to ice the game. "This is a big boost," Van Horn said after New Jersey won for only the second time in six games. "I'm exhausted right now, physically tired. This whole team needs to just get some good shooting in tomorrow and come back and continue the level of confidence we played with in the last couple of minutes." Best said the Pacers were aware the Nets have been blowing leads this season. "It's frustrating, we came all the way back, got within one and had some time," Best said. "But we just couldn't get over the hump." The Nets took advantage of the two technicals against Miller to score the first six points of the fourth quarter and take a 91-70 lead on a jumper by Gill. Indiana immediately came back with a 26-6 run that featured nine of Rose's 17 fourth-quarter points. "The guys who were out there played really hard, but it was just too far to come back," Bird said. Gill helped the Nets extend a five-point halftime lead to 15 by scoring 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter. The Pacers' other three-game losing streak was from Jan. 21-24. Game notesNets assistant Eddie Jordan and his wife, Charrisse, became the parents of a daughter, Skylar Victoria, over the weekend. ... Nets starting center Jim McIlvaine missed his second straight game because of a bulging disk. ... Rookie Evan Eschmeyer got his first NBA start and picked up two fouls in 28 seconds. He finished with six points. ... Pacers forward Derrick McKey didn't play because of a strained muscle in his right leg. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Indiana Clubhouse New Jersey Clubhouse RECAPS Atlanta 116 Denver 111
New Jersey 111
  | |||||
