Results tagged “jermaineo”

Consistent when it counted, the Nets ended the suspense in their first round series with Thursday's 96-90 win in Indiana. After sleepwalking through the first three games and trailing 2-1, New Jersey won the next three and will face Miami in the conference semifinals. Thursday's hero wasn't Vince Carter, whom Gothamist has toted as the key to the Nets' fate, but Richard Jefferson, who scored 30 points on 10-13 shooting.

Lawrence Frank must wonder why his team can't play their best basketball when they don't trail in this series. For the second time this series, the Nets coach saw his players respond from a loss, this time in a 97-88 win over the Pacers Saturday. Just as it appeared in the other win, the Nets' recipe for success included an efficient night from Vince Carter, a more involved Jason Kidd and a foul-ridden performance by Pacer Jermaine O'Neal. The Indiana forward fouled out with 1:21 to go, stopping the momentum his team had gathered in the game's final minutes.

Just as the Nets improved with the play of Vince Carter, so did the Pacers when Jermaine O'Neal woke up. With Indiana's big man not in foul trouble and a force inside, the Nets lost game three 107-95 Thursday and trail the four-of-seven series two games to one. O'Neal proved too tough to handle on offense (he scored 37 points) and on defense (he held Nenad Krstic to just nine points). Without foul trouble to worry about, he emerged as the dominant force in game three.

After sleepwalking through the last part of the regular season and the first game of their playoff series against Indiana, the Nets might have forgotten the way they played during their 14-game winning streak. Tuesday's 90-75 win over Indiana evened their series at one game each, but, more importantly, it showed the Nets still can play dominating basketball. With tenacious defense and an improved shooting performance from Vince Carter, New Jersey didn't let Indiana hang around. Jermaine O'Neal found himself in foul trouble for the second straight game, but this time the Nets took advantage.

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.

In case any doubt lingered about the Nets' lackluster effort during the season's last few games, New Jersey removed any doubt with a 90-83 loss to the Knicks at home. Of course, Lawrence Frank rested his stars to the point that the quartet of Vince Carter, Nenad Krstic, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson totaled just 18 minutes. All belonged to Jefferson. Jacque Vaughn led the team with 15 points, and the not-even-trying Nets almost came from behind to beat the Knicks.

Maybe this has escaped the notice of the Knicks’ management, but their team cannot play defense. Gilbert Arenas took advantage of New York’s defensive ineptitude last night, scoring 46 points in just three quarters of the Wizards 110-89 victory. To make matters worse, Stephon Marbury reinjured his shoulder during the first half and missed the rest of the game.

Hmmmm…perhaps Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O’Neal were on to something when they cited “security issues” as a reason for not representing their country at the Olympics. Team USA played their final warm up exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey yesterday just hours after two bombs exploded in tourist hotels miles from where the team was staying. Two people were killed and 11 more were injured.

More and more the USA Basketball committee that is selecting the 12 players for this summer’s Olympic basketball squad are hearing "I’m out", especially since the recent bombings in Athens. All this makes Gothamist wonder, who's in? Players that have turned down bids to play for Team USA include Seattle’s Ray Allen (fiancé giving birth this summer), Jersey’s Jason Kidd (nagging injuries), Toronto’s Vince Carter (getting married this summer), Minnesoata’s Kevin Garnett (fatigue from prolonged playoff run), and a trio of Lakers which include Karl Malone (needs time to recover from injury filled season), Kobe Bryant (pesky pending rape trial) and Shaquile O’Neal (doesn’t really want to go). Although he has not declined his invite yet, sources say Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal is considering pulling out because of safety concerns in Athens.