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NETS 104, CELTICS 97: Jason Kidd's triple double and Paul Pierce's foul trouble give N.J. early East lead.
Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 20, 2002
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- They ran at every opportunity, scored without much difficulty and never trailed.
And with Jason Kidd doing everything he has done all season, the Nets showed why they are the No. 1 team in the East.
Picking apart Boston's vaunted defense with ease, the Nets beat the Celtics 104-97 Sunday night in Game 1 of the best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference final.
From shooting percentages to rebounding to dictating tempo, the Nets dominated. Most important was their easy basket production: 19 were layups or dunks.
"We didn't even play a lick of defense all night," Paul Pierce said.
Pierce said before the series the Nets had no one who could defend him. What he did not mention was something else -- foul trouble -- could stop him.
Pierce scored 14 in the first quarter but was a nonfactor offensively the rest of the way. He picked up his third and fourth fouls in a 16-second span early in the third, and the Nets went on an 18-8 run as he sat out.
Pierce did not score again until 8:21 left. But the Nets had built their lead as high as 17 and withstood a rally that pulled Boston within six with less than two minutes left.
Kidd finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, getting the triple double with 3:53 left when he fed Keith Van Horn for a jumper, giving the Nets a 97-86 lead. Kerry Kittles, Todd MacCulloch and Van Horn scored 14 each.
"There's more than one guy who can put the ball in the basket, and being unselfish and trying to play the right way -- that's been our motto the whole season," Kidd said.
Pierce and Antoine Walker led Boston with 27 each.
Much was made before the series about the offensive talents of Pierce and Walker and Boston's edge in 3-point shooting, but the Nets negated it with their height advantage.
New Jersey outrebounded Boston 49-38. Kenyon Martin scored nine, but his defensive presence inside helped prevent the Celtics from driving to the basket.
Boston settled for too many outside shots, even for a team that relies on the 3. The Celtics hoisted 29 3s, making 10, and shot 41 percent.
"Their halfcourt offense, their movement, I thought they were very, very crisp," coach Jim O'Brien said. "Our defense was not up to the standard that New Jersey set with their offense."
Game 2 is Tuesday night at the Meadowlands.
The Celtics defense, which held the Pistons to 79.4 points in the second round, was absent.
New Jersey shot 49 percent from the field and 89 percent from the free-throw line. Boston missed 10 free throws, with Pierce and Walker combining to miss six in the fourth.
"We're not the same team we were when we played Boston in the regular season. We've grown, just as they have, and matured as a team," coach Byron Scott said. "We've gotten better as a team at both ends of the court, and today it was on display."
Boston won the regular-season series 3-1.