It’s not like the New Jersey Nets don’t know problems. They featured Derrick Coleman and sold Julius Erving. Rollie Massimino once quit as coach before his introductory news conference, and Larry Brown left in midseason. The Nets are identified with a swamp and a turnpike exit.
And perhaps soon NBA Finals ignominy.
That’s because the Nets went where few ever have gone Friday night, down two games to none to the Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated the Nets 106-83.
Shaquille O’Neal once again led the Lakers to a relatively easy victory with 40 points, and teammate Kobe Bryant added 24. Kerry Kittles led the Nets with 23.
“I can’t remember anyone who has gone on the other side of the coin and won three consecutive games at home in this [Finals] 2-3-2 split,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, apparently on his way to his record-equaling ninth coaching championship. “So you know what history means to us. [With] a 2-0 lead, it’s going to be difficult for them to pull off a feat that never has been done.”
No team ever falling behind 0-2 since this format began in 1984 has recovered to win the championship, and the last to come back from 0-2 was Bill Walton’s 1977 Portland Trail Blazers. More likely, the Nets are looking at being the first team to be swept in the Finals since O’Neal’s Orlando Magic in 1995.
The Nets did make a brief fourth-quarter run, cutting the Lakers’ lead to 79-72 after three consecutive three-pointers. But the Lakers relentlessly pulled away, as they have in both games.
After the Lakers won the first game of the Finals 99-94 on Wednesday, Jackson expressed some concern.
The victory was similar to the first one against Sacramento in the Western Conference finals, after which his team had been fortunate to win one of the next three games.
So before Friday night’s victory in Game 2, Jackson told his players they had given back the Nets their confidence and this game’s mission was to take it away again.
No problem.
“We felt we had to come out and establish a certain sense of domination,” Jackson said. “It’s about winning each quarter and not winning a big quarter and then cruising. If you’re going to beat a basketball team and you’re going to put it in their mind that they have doubts, you want to salt those wounds.”
The Lakers made the Nets wince from the start in Game 2.
The Nets offered some light up-court pressure to try to change the pace of the game, but they didn’t seem to notice the physical advantage of Lakers center O’Neal as they gave little additional help to their centers.
Earth to Byron Scott. Hello? Anyone there?
Instead, the Nets set more screens to get Kittles scoring opportunities.
“He’s a big weapon for us,” Nets coach Scott said. “When he scores, 15, 16, 17 points for us we’re very successful.”
Kittles, after a low among the starters Wednesday with nine points, did score the Nets’ first seven points. But by that time the Lakers had 11, with O’Neal and Bryant scoring all but two. Then the Lakers went on to take a 21-11 lead, mostly behind O’Neal, who had 12 points in the first quarter to carry them to a 27-21 lead.
“I have 75 moves on each [lane] I can go to anytime,” O’Neal said. “I like to take the high-percentage shots.”
The Nets weren’t getting many of those again as they shot 24 percent in the first quarter, though they were more aggressive with 15 first-quarter rebounds. Their percentage reached only 30.6 at halftime.
The most curious issue, clearly, remained Scott’s seeming refusal to provide inside defensive help on O’Neal. Scott is a disciple of Miami coach Pat Riley, who challenges his players to defend without help.
“We’re leaving [the adjustments] up to the coaches,” Nets center Todd MacCulloch said before Game 2.
Which, translated, meant, “C’mon, Byron, do something!”
– – –
NBA Finals
L.A. Lakers lead New Jersey 2-0
Game 1
LOS ANGELES 99, New Jersey 94
Game 2
LOS ANGELES 106, New Jersey 83
Game 3: Sunday
at New Jersey, 7:30
Game 4: Wednesday
at New Jersey, 8
Game 5: Friday
at New Jersey, 8*
Game 6: Monday, June 17
at Los Angeles, 8*
Game 7: Wednesday, June 19
at Los Angeles, 8*
Best-of-7 series; *- if necessary
All games on WMAQ-Ch. 5
