LOS ANGELES - Gary Payton swears he didn't have anything to prove. Maybe so, but there's no doubt he had some extra incentive.
A day after expressing frustration and anger with teammates, coaching staff and media, Payton played his best game of the playoffs. And so did the Lakers, routing San Antonio 105-81 Sunday to cut the Spurs' lead to 2-1 in the West semifinals.
Game 4 is Tuesday in Los Angeles.
In the Spurs' 10-point victories in the first two games, Tony Parker shredded the Lakers for 50 points and 14 assists.
Payton shouldered much of the blame.
"I know I can play basketball - I've played it for 14 years. I know what's going on," said Payton, 35, who had 15 points and seven assists and helped limit Parker to eight and five.
"Today we made a conscious effort to focus on (Parker). I don't really go back and say, "I told you so,' " Payton said. "We came back and played a good game today. Everybody did a good job on defense. We knew we needed a win. We came out and played the way we're supposed to."
Facing a must-win situation, Shaquille O'Neal dominated the inside with 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and eight blocked shots and Kobe Bryant added 22 points and six rebounds. Tim Duncan shot 4-of-14 for 10 points and committed six turnovers, and Parker was 4-of-12 and had three turnovers.
NETS 82, PISTONS 64: Richard Jefferson was the reason why Kenyon Martin's foul trouble and Jason Kidd's poor shooting didn't make much of a difference. Host New Jersey used its fastbreak to take a big early lead, and Jefferson scored a career playoff-high 30 to help cut the deficit in the East semifinal series to 2-1.
"I would say I was due more than anything," said Jefferson, who shot 6-for-25 in Games 1 and 2 before going 11-for-19 in Game 2. "I've progressively gotten better in this series. You get used to the way they're playing you, you make adjustments, you find your shots and you've just got to knock them down."
Ben Wallace grabbed 24 rebounds but was the only Detroit player to display the same type of energy that fueled lopsided victories in Games 1 and 2.
Plenty of factors could have hurt the Nets, like awful shooting by Kidd (2-for-14) and foul trouble for Martin that limited him to 21 minutes.
But New Jersey never let a 21-point lead get too diminished.
"The resolve and determination and will of this team, it should never be questioned," Nets guard Kerry Kittles said.
HEAT: Coach Stan Van Gundy is concerned about Eddie Jones' production the first two games of the East semifinal series against Indiana - 13 points.
The Heat's leading scorer the past four seasons scored nine even though the Heat ran 16 plays for him. Late in the second quarter, the Heat set up Jones to shoot a few times and he passed.
"I went back and made sure that we were running stuff in his direction," he said. "I can't call more than 16 plays for one guy."
