With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
Neither the New Jersey Nets nor the Detroit Pistons shot well in Game 1 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals on May 18. While Richard Hamilton (24 points on 56.3% shooting) was an exception for Detroit (35.2% shooting as a team), Jason Kidd was not in the slightest for the Nets.
New Jersey’s point guard was 5-for-18 from the floor (27.8%) going into the final possession with the game tied 74-74, yet Kidd was the one with the ball in his hands.
With Chauncey Billups guarding him off the inbounds pass, Kidd let the clock run down before he went to the corner and pulled up over Mehmet Okur, who was there on the double team. Kidd pulled up, fading away from the 6-foot-11 defender, and gave New Jersey the lead with 1.4 seconds on the clock.
The Pistons could not respond on the other end and the Nets walked away with a 76-74 win in Game 1 (full box score).
“He has hit a lot of big shots, but that’s the biggest shot for us,” Nets head coach Byron Scott said after the win. “It gives us home-court advantage. As we always said, we want the first game.”
Kenyon Martin led the Nets in scoring with 16 points. Martin also had nine boards, four steals and three blocked shots.
Kidd (15 points) also had nine rebounds, along with his seven assists and three steals.
Richard Jefferson finished with 11 points and seven boards. Jason Collins led New Jersey with 10 rebounds.