By FRED KERBER
Glass jaw? Not in L.A. Figure this is the Laker recap, wee hours edition. And the wake-up call is due in about 40 minutes. Anyway, the Nets are coming home with a winning record for their Thanksgiving trip for only the third time in their history. They did it in 1997 and before that in 1992. All other years, they usually are surveying the carnage by now.
The 102-100 win at the Staples Center Sunday was special for a lot of reasons.
Three in a row and they’re back at .500 for starters.
“We’re starting to get some momentum,” said Richard Jefferson, with a 27-point masterpiece that included 17 free throw attempts (yeah, he botched six but…).
Jefferson led the scoring for the 13th time in 14 games and everybody contributed. The Big Three accounted for 61 points, 16 rebounds and 19 assists (okay, 14 of those were by Kidd). Boki Nachbar hit some big shots and bigger free throws. Sean Williams changed the energy.
And the Nets may have responded to Captain Jason Kidd’s stinging rebuke at the start of the trip. Jefferson agreed with him about that whole glass jaw thing. Anyway, the Lakers were having their way, up 14 with Kobe shooting horribly. So you figured if Kobe got hot, the Nets would be buried, down a dozen at halftime (Kobe was 3-of-14 at that time).
“It’s the last game of the road trip, it’s a long trip, guys were banged up and tired. It’s not easy to play, especially against a team that’s back home and lost two in a row. They came out really aggressive,” said Nachbar.
So Lawrence Frank called for energy.
“We came in and coach said we need to come out with a lot of energy in the third quarter. He put me in there real early so I just tried to come out and bring that spark,” said rookie Williams who helped change the tenor of the game as much as anybody.
“The best feeling in the world is knowing that if you do get beat off the dribble you got someone back there who can change the shot,” said Antoine Wright of the Rookie.
So the Nets laid a 35-point quarter on the Lakers noggins as they got out and ran, Kidd directing. And they forged a 72-all tie with Carter nailing a 3-pointer at the close from about 4-point territory.
“That’s where I’m more comfortable. Boki’s telling me to come in, I’m like, ‘Nope.’ I’m something like 6-for-20,000 from there,” Carter said.
Then the fourth quarter was – in Nachbar’s words – “back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.”
With the defense as active as ever, the Nets forced four turnovers in the first 4:45 — along with three misses. And when Josh Boone, following the leads of Carter, Jefferson and Nachbar, scored, Kidd assisting, at 4:44, the Nets were up a dozen.
“Their defense was testier,” Phil Jackson said.
So there.
But nobody told Kobe Bryant it was over. In just 2:24, Bryant hit a pair of 3-pointers and a three-point play going for a 31-point night. After a 3-of-16 start, he went 4-of-5 in the fourth.
“He shot one three at the top of the key, he shot one from Orange County,” Kidd said.
But Kobe would later miss what proved to be the biggest shot of the night – a free throw. After the Nets took a 101-98 lead with :07.2 left on two Carter FTs, the Lakers called time. Gee, wonder who was getting the ball?
And of course whenever there is a three-point Net lead, whenever there is little time left, always there is a flashback to the 2004 Eastern semis.
Game 5, at Detroit. Nets are up three, don’t foul, Chauncey Billups bags a three, the game goes three overtimes and Kidd played 217 minutes that night on a bum knee and is toast when the Pistons come back and win Games 6 and 7. Microfracture surgery follows.
But we digress.
So the Nets are gonna foul. Bryant knows it and flings the ball with the foul. It’s in the act. Oops. Three shots. He makes. He makes. He misses.
“It felt great, missed it by a millimeter, skimmed the rim, went in and came out,” Bryant said.
Fast forward. Nachbar at the line, 1-of-2. Lakers rebound. Timeout at :03.3. Vladimir Radmanovic fires a 3-pointer for the win but barely hits iron. And they’re dancing in Moonachie.
“Our team is starting to get some fight. JKidd said it best and I wouldn’t disagree with him when he said our team had a glass jaw about a week ago,” Jefferson said. “Teams would hit and we would just kind of fall down. But guys have stepped up, guys have taken the challenge and we’re showing more fight.”
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Kind of big day today for the Nets. Marcus Williams going for an MRI. Frank puts no timetable on Williams’ return from broken foot – originally, hope was he’d practice Wednesday. Doubtful. But soon.
“It’s hard to say. We’ll know a little more (tonight) after he sees the doctor. Right now he wouldn’t be able to practice,” Frank said.
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No Magloire for a third straight game, no Krstic for a second. Frank waiting for matchups to use Magloire, waiting for Krstic to work himself silly and then get condition and confidence back. The quickness is the big thing with Krstic. The knee is sound.
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There goes my wake-up call. . .
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One more tribute to L.A.:
Movie Quote of the Day: James Cromwell (Capt. Smith) — “I admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job.” – “L.A. Confidential”