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Nets-Knicks game 2 notes

 


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/ April 20, 2004

Tuesday night in the Continental Airlines Arena, the New Jersey Nets hosted the New York Knicks. The Nets come into the game leading the series 1-0. InsideHoops.com presents raw, entirely unedited game notes, taken during the game and posted immediately afterwards. We'll have standard game recaps, interviews and other stuff later tonight, but for now, check out the raw notes and ignore the typos.

The Knicks are still without Allan Houston, who has not yet found knees, and Tim Thomas, whose back is messy after a Jason Collins flagrant foul in Game One of the series sent him hard to the floor and eventually into an ambulance lying face down on a stretcher.

Arena announcements involving Dikembe Mutombo result in boos.

The first quarter was pretty even. The Nets shot about 53%, compared to 46% for the Knicks, but New York's 4-for-7 three-point shooting kept it close.

Penny's led the way in the playmaking department, dishing five or six assists. Stephon Marbury scored 10. The Nets got balanced scoring from all starters not named Jason Collins.

End of first quarter: Nets 26 Nets 24

You can't stop Brandon Armstrong, you can only hope to contain him.

Mike Sweetney has really learned to work around the basket with the ball, especially against single coverage. He'll become a force, someday.

Rodney Rogers and Sweetney are up against each other. If they collide with full force, the entire arena might fall over.

Dikembe Mutombo operating in the paint is not poetry in motion.

With 8:59 left in the second quarter, during the start of a timeout, Stephon Marbury got called for a technical foul for yapping at a ref. It was right before Mutombo was about to go to the line to try to complete a three-point play, so the timing of the the tech really made no sense.

Mutombo got the ball outside the paint on the left side, and for what felt like 15 seconds tried to back Rogers in. The sequence was so ugly, had his shot gone in, they should have waved it off. Fortunately, when he got to the paint and forced his shot, several Nets converged on him and it missed.

At the six-minute mark it's Nets 42 Knicks 31.

Just after a timeout with six minutes left, the "famous" Nets fan who is basically a dorky dude dressed in an embarrassing hat, plaid shorts that look like old boxers and a sweatshirt came out of the upper arena area, faced the crowd and led his pro-Nets chant. But a kid in a Knicks jersey came down to try to counter him. I rate the battle a tie. The Knicks fan came down at the very end of the chanting, but he gets props for at least looking like an NBA fan, whereas the Nets fan looks like he should be standing in a laundry-mat waiting for his real clothes to finish being washed. Not that I'm a fashion expert or judge. But the Nets dude is just embarrassing.

Jason Kidd is friggin' fast.

Both the first and second quarters ended with Kenyon Martin attempting three-point shots from the other side of the court.

At the half: Nets 52 Knicks 39. Marbury has 18 on 7-of-14 shooting. Kurt Thomas shot 4-of-6 for eight points and six rebounds. Kenyon Martin had 12 points and nine rebounds. Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson also scored in double-digits.

The third quarter started the way New Jersey wanted: a 6-0 Nets run.

Kidd's court vision is incredible. Just in case you hit your head and forgot.

At 8:30 it's Nets up, 61-43.

The Knicks have fouled Richard Jefferson pretty hard two plays in a row.

Stephon Marbury is a soldier. But his teammates aren't.

At 7:31 Richard Jefferson drove the lane, jumped 800 feet in the air and tried to cram it on Mutombo's head. He missed, and the rebound bounced away, but the effort was appreciated.

Mutombo's elbows can cut through steel.

Shandon Anderson can run, and finish. Yes he can. One of the few in blue and orange.

At 5:02 it's Nets 63 Knicks 50.

Martin and Mutombo almost went at it. Almost. Mutombo had the ball down low, and Martin grabbed him to prevent an easy basket. Mutombo didn't like it. He's angry.

Plenty of Knicks fans are in the house. But, Nets fans are the majority.

At 3:59, Martin was chasing after Marbury in three-point range and got called for a cheap foul, his fourth. He heads to the bench.

Marbury still has 18 points. Kurt Thomas has 14. Penny has nine.

Kidd's missing open threes. It's down to a 10-point Nets lead.

Rodney Rogers is stepping up, hitting a three and a contested layup to give the Nets a 71-56 lead with 1:35 to go in the third quarter.

Penny just made like young Penny, spinning past multiple defenders for a sweet layup finish.

End of three: Nets 72 Knicks 59. Marbury went scoreless in the third quarter and still has 18 points. For the Nets, Rogers had a great quarter and now has 12 points.

Mutombo's getting angry every few plays. And at 9:25, after being boxed out by Rodney Rogers, he lashed at the ref and drew a technical foul. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

The Nets are rolling. And at 8:43, Aaron Williams set a beautiful pick around the right elbow to give Jefferson a wide-open three-pointer, which he nailed to give the Nets an 82-63 lead. Time-out New York. Pivotal part of the game right now.

The Knicks right now have hard work and little else. If not for hard work the Nets would be up by 40 right now.

With 7:55 left in the game, Kenyon Martin finally returned. He replaced Rodney Rogers, who received a well-deserved ovation from the fans.

Kidd's first foul in this entire game came halfway through the fourth quarter.

Play of the game: Kerry Kittles cut to the basket without the ball, Kidd passed to him, Kittles caught it and twisted in a sweet reverse layup. Not overwhelming like a Kenyon martin alley-oop, but simply a beautiful play.

With 5:00 to go in the game the Nets are up 90-71. The Knicks need a miracle. They have DerMarr Johnson in, and he has a bright orange headband. Maybe that'll do the trick.

No miracle for the Knicks tonight. With two minutes left it's Nets up, 99-77. And they have Zoran Planinic and Tamar Slay on the floor.

It's over. New Jersey wins, 99-81. The Nets have now won 12 straight playoff games against Eastern conference opponents.

KEY FINAL STATS For the Knicks: Stephon Marbury had 23 points (7-of-20), seven assists and five turnovers. Kurt Thomas had 18 points (8-of-16), 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Penny Hardaway had 13 points (5-of-16), 10 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and only one turnover. Shandon Anderson shot 3-of-15 for just nine points.

For the Nets: Kenyon Martin had 22 points (9-of-16), 16 rebounds and three steals. Richard Jefferson had 20 points (6-of-13), four rebounds and four assists. Jason Kidd had 15 points (6-of-11), eight assists, six rebounds and six turnovers.

The Nets as a team shot 53.5% from the field, while the Knicks shot just 34.1%. Rebounds were just about even. The Nets won the assists battle, 28-20. And the Nets hit 7-of-18 from three-point range, while the Knicks were just 4-of-16.










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