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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nets put stops on two stars


New Jersey's Nenad Krstic, left, passes the ball over Seattle's Mateen Cleaves. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
David Porter Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New Jersey Nets have been a step behind on defense, according to point guard Jason Kidd. Against Seattle, they stayed a step ahead.

Nenad Krstic scored a season-high 25 points and New Jersey held Ray Allen without a field goal for three quarters as the Nets defeated the SuperSonics 109-99 Tuesday night.

Rashard Lewis had 29 points for Seattle, but scored only two points in the fourth quarter as Richard Jefferson clamped down on him.

“I thought Richard did a very good job,” said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. “Rashard’s a very talented guy, and everything he got he had to earn.”

The Nets had lost their two most recent games to Houston and Indiana, which had shot 47 percent and 52 percent against them. Seattle finished 32 for 75 (43 percent), which included a 4-for-18 performance by Allen, who entered the game averaging 23.7 points per game, tied for 10th in the NBA.

“It’s about team defense,” said Jefferson, who finished with 19 points along with teammate Vince Carter. “There are always going to be individuals who make shots. But you’ve got to have confidence that when you look across the floor, you know the other guys have got your back.”

Trailing 79-70 to begin the fourth quarter, Seattle closed to 87-86 on a fadeaway by Allen. But the Nets pushed the score back to 99-90, aided by six points from Carter and two alert plays by Kidd.

On the first, he snapped up a loose ball at the free throw line and found Jefferson for a dunk. On Seattle’s next possession, he stole Luke Ridnour’s pass and went in for an uncontested layup.

“Before that I’d had a good look at a ‘3’ and missed, so I was just looking for some other component to help out with,” said Kidd, who finished with 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting and nine assists.

Seattle was playing its fifth game of a six-game road trip that concludes tonight in Boston. The SuperSonics lost the first three games by a total of 93 points before winning at Toronto Sunday.

At 2-5, Seattle has already lost more games than it did through Dec. 15 a year ago, when the team began the season 17-3.

“We’ve got to get it into our minds that last year is over with,” said Lewis. “You’ve got to play good defense so it flows into our offense. We’re not putting a full game together. I feel like we’re only playing two quarters a night.”

While the Nets starters misfired early, New Jersey’s bench kept them in the game. Scott Padgett finished with a season-high 13 points, 11 in the first half when Carter was held to two field goals and six points.

New Jersey led be as many as 14 in the third quarter before Lewis scored the last nine points for Seattle on two 3-pointers and three foul shots after being fouled by Padgett with 7 seconds left.

Notes

Seattle F Danny Fortson suffered an inflammation of his right big toe and did not return after playing four minutes in the first half … Nets C Jason Collins missed his second straight game with a muscle strain in his lower right leg. … Clifford Robinson replaced Collins in the starting lineup and played 21 minutes to pass Otis Thorpe and move into 19th place on the NBA’s all-time list with 39,840.

Nets 109, SuperSonics 99

FGFTReb
SEATTLEMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Lewis 38:5310-185-51-63429
Collison 29:564-60-03-7358
Petro 23:073-70-02-5046
Allen 41:054-1810-110-64319
Ridnour 38:134-93-30-23313
Wilkins 16:131-33-30-1435
Radmanovic 19:224-100-00-12211
Fortson 4:270-00-00-0010
Cleaves 9:471-21-20-0013
Evans 10:571-22-40-4024
Moore 8:000-01-10-0021
Totals 240:0032-7525-296-32193099

Percentages: FG .427, FT .862. 3-Point Goals: 10-29, .345 (Lewis 4-9, Radmanovic 3-7, Ridnour 2-4, Allen 1-8, Wilkins 0-1). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 12 (18 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Radmanovic 2, Fortson, Moore). Turnovers: 11 (Lewis 2, Evans 2, Allen 2, Ridnour 2, Moore 2, Petro). Steals: 8 (Ridnour 3, Lewis, Allen, Collison, Wilkins, Petro). Technical Fouls: None.

FGFTReb
NEWJERSEYMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Jefferson 42:436-124-41-112019
Robinson 21:502-62-21-2246
Krstic 37:549-147-104-80225
Carter 36:294-1011-121-43219
Kidd 36:313-134-42-69410
Jackson 15:392-42-21-1126
McInnis 18:453-51-20-4407
Padgett 19:575-71-13-91213
Planinic 9:321-22-41-2044
Vaughn 0:400-00-00-0000
Totals 240:0035-7334-4114-472220109

Percentages: FG .479, FT .829. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Jefferson 3-5, Padgett 2-3, Carter 0-1, Planinic 0-1, Robinson 0-1, Kidd 0-4). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 14 (10 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Carter, Jefferson). Turnovers: 13 (Carter 3, Krstic 3, Kidd 2, Jefferson 2, McInnis 2, Jackson). Steals: 8 (Kidd 2, Carter 2, Jefferson, Krstic, McInnis, Padgett). Technical Foul: Defensive Three Second, 2:44 first.

Seattle 27212229—99
New Jersey 19293130—109

A—14,986 (20,098). T—2:14.