Results tagged “indianapacers”

If someone told Nets coach Lawrence Frank he could have the Indiana Pacers' best player in foul trouble all afternoon and force the Pacers to rely on a reserve point guard, he probably would have signed on the dotted line. Yet Jermaine O'Neal scored when it counted and Anthony Johnson, a former Net, hit two free throws in the final second of a 90-88 win over New Jersey. The Pacers lead the four-of-seven series 1-0. Frank can take the good and the bad from this performance.

So, on the cover of yesterday's NY Times sports section was this huge picture of New Jersey Nets small forward Richard Jefferson (RJ!) hugging point guard Zoran Planinic after a third quarter shot against the Utah Jazz, and we thought to ourselves, "This is some hug...not that there's anything wrong with that." But these are exciting times for Nets, as exciting as being on top of the Atlantic Division five games into the season can be and cross-the-Hudson and possible cross-the-East River rival New York Knicks sucking. Jefferson has been doing well this season, and we can only hope that he, Vince Carter, and Jason Kidd stay healthy. And that Nenad Krstic can continue to score. In the meantime, Gothamist will wonder how many children were frightened by this Jason Kidd Jox Box.

John Starks, New York Knicks

While the Knicks lost last night's game by 18 points, they wake up with a real sense of relief this morning. Reggie Miller, the skinny, gawky perennial clutch shooter for the Indiana Pacers, has played his final game at MSG. While Reggie had a rough shooting night (13 points), teammate and fan-puncher Stephen Jackson picked up the slack with 33 points to lead Indiana to a win.

Last night, the Nets lost the 7th and deciding game to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Why did we all know this would happen? Maybe because the Nets were blown out in their first two games and had to return to the scene of the crime? Or was it the fact that Jason Kidd was held scoreless in the playoffs for the first time in his career because of his back and knee ailments? Or was it just that the Pistons were the better team? Whatever it was, the Nets lost the game 90-69 (box score) and will not return to the NBA Finals this year. Chauncey Billups scored a game-high 22 points, with his teammates Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace adding 21 and 18 points respectively. The Pistons now move on to play the Indiana Pacers to see who goes to the NBA Finals.

Proving that nothing in New York is cheap, a recent study by Sportsbusinessnews.com confirmed that the New York Knickerbockers were officially the worst bargain in the league this season. When you divide the Knicks $94,395,091 payroll (highest in the league) by 39, the number of W’s they notched this season, the results show that each victory cost owner James Dolan $2,420,387.