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Wednesday, Dec. 15 7:30pm ET
Van Horn's 27 points leads Nets | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New Jersey Nets found their shot from the outside against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they also gave notice they weren't going to take any shots, either. Keith Van Horn scored 27 points and the Nets exploited a porous defense to defeat Cleveland 111-101 on Wednesday night, ending a six-game losing streak against the Cavaliers. Stephon Marbury added 23, Kerry Kittles had 17 and Kendall Gill 16 as the suddenly hot Nets won for the fourth time in five games after opening the season losing 15 of 17. "We're starting to play hard and we're starting to play as a team," Marbury said after the Nets beat the Cavaliers for only the second time in 14 games. Gill wasn't around to see the end of the game. He was ejected late in the fourth quarter after picking up two technicals in a run-in with Cavs center Andrew DeClercq. But that incident and Gill's response was just as important as the win, some players said. Gill initially pushed DeClercq because the Cavs center had pushed Van Horn. "We've got to protect each other, that's what other teams do," Marbury said. Gill said that DeClercq had thrown a couple of cheap shots during the game, including a hip cheap that knocked him off balance just before the incident. "You've got to let people know your team and teammates aren't going to be shoved around," Gill said. "That's part of the reason why I reacted the way I did. We are trying to develop a trademark by finishing teams off and not letting them back into games. We know we are a better team than our record shows." DeClercq refused to comment on the incident. As far as the game, he and almost every Cavalier said the same thing, the team didn't play defense. "They average 92 points a game and we gave up 111," DeClercq said. "We couldn't stop guys driving to the basket and they moved the ball well and got open shots because we had to help and rotate. They did a good job of moving the ball and finding the open person." Shawn Kemp had a season-high 36 points on 15 of 23 shooting and Wesley Person came off the bench to hit all six of his 3-pointers and score a season-high 22 points, but they were the only Cavs to provide any spark. Lamond Murray, Brevin Knight, Bob Sura and Andrew DeClercq, Cleveland's other starters, combined for 29 points on 12 of 28 shooting. "We allowed them to do what they wanted with the ball when they wanted," Cleveland coach Randy Wittman said. "Until we learn we're going to win with defense, we're going to have nights like this." New Jersey, which led most of the first half, took control with a 29-12 spurt that spanned the final three minutes of the second quarter and the opening eight of the third. The run featured four 3-pointers and four other jumpers in the 20-foot range. Kittles and Van Horn each had seven points, Gill had six and Marbury five for the Nets, who shot 46 percent from the field. The only lively action after that was a shoving incident between Gill and DeClercq with 5:04 to play that earned each a technical foul. Gill got a second T 38 seconds later for throwing an elbow after being fouled by DeClercq.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Cleveland Clubhouse New Jersey Clubhouse RECAPS Utah 96 Boston 86
New Jersey 111
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