Joe Netsfan Game x Game 13 - Nets 98, Sonics 93

Recycling wins ain't easy, but that's two in a row

Nets 98, Sonics 93
Game 13 File
The Nets win their second straight against the Sonics with a much better effort on both ends of the court. A late comeback by the Sonics, who were down as much as 13, nearly wrecks a strong defensive showing (21 Sonic turnovers), but the Big Three help pull out the win with end game execution.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 6 - 7
Home Record: 3 - 5
Away Record: 3 - 2
Division Record: 1 - 3
Conf. Record: 4 - 5
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Richard Jefferson, 30.
• Assists: Jason Kidd, 6.
• Rebounds: Malik Allen, 6.
• Steals: Jason Kidd, 4.
• Turnovers: Kidd and Carter each had 3.
• Blocks: Sean Williams, 1.
• FG Percentage: Jason Kidd, 83.3% (5 - 6).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 49.4%
• FT Percentage: 68.2%
• Rebounds: 33
• Rebound Differential: -6
• Turnovers: 14
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 21
• Bench points: 38
• Bench points Differential:-4
• Steals: 10
• Blocks: 1
• Points in the Paint: 44
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 5
• Nets Fast Break Points: 12
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 83.3% (5 - 6).
• Scoring Differential Kidd in the game: +4
• Scoring Differential Kidd out: +1 (Gill)
• Double-Doubles this Season: 6
• Triple Doubles this Season 3:
• Career Triple Doubles:90

Nets Media
Bergen Record | Nets
Newark Star-Ledger | Nets
Newsday | Nets
NY Daily News | NBA
NY Post | Nets
NY Times | Pro Basketball
YES Network | Nets

Nets Team Pages
CNNSI.com | Nets
ESPN.com | Nets
FoxSports | Nets
NBA.com | Nets
Sportsline.com | Nets

Sonics Media:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Sonics
Seattle Times | Sonics/NBA
Tacoma News Tribune | Sonics/NBA

Game 13: Nets 98, Sonics 93 – November 23, 2007
Green Thoughts
In the land of hybrid cars, recycling, and tree hugging, the Nets decided to clean up their act further and despite a bit of late game waste, made their second straight victory out west against the Sonics a thing of beauty. Caring more about their environment than at any time since the 4 – 1 start, the Nets used both offense and defense to slow the young and slap-happy Green Mailers into submission. And the Nets Big Three came up big in the end game, which is the way things are supposed to work.

After dropping behind 5 – 0 to start, Antoine Wright was replaced on the court by Vince Carter, and immediately things starting blooming. The Nets went on a 28 – 17 run for the balance of the quarter behind VC’s 9 points, while completely bottling up star rookie Kevin Durant. Recognizing the Sonics weakness in the middle, the Nets attacked, repeatedly, inside and behind Richard Jefferson while forcing turnovers on the defensive end of the floor. With the Nets doubling anyone coming close to the paint, and the Sonics turning the ball over 12 times, the Nets took a 10 point bulge into the lockerroom.

And so it continued throughout the third period, the Nets digging the earth and moving the pile, while the Sonics could only fumble with the spade. A Sonic zone tied up the Nets, yet Seattle could not, or would not capitalize. Until the fourth quarter, that is.

With the Nets cruising still through the opening stages of the fourth quarter, it was again a Sonic zone that almost did them in. After an RJ score and free throw, the lead back at 10, the Sonics hit the zone and went with their second stringers (Delonte West, Kurt Thomas and Jeff Green, alongside Kevin Durant and DamienWilkins) and mounted a comeback. A 7 – 0 run led by West cut the lead, quickly, to three, and then the Nets did what they could to hang on, leading to two Carter free throws to bring things back to five. Durant, asleep all game, finally woke up and bagged a three, cutting the lead to two with just over two minutes to play. A beautiful Wright drive through the lane put it back to four with 1:02 to play, and the Big Three then took over to close it out.

Of course, it wasn’t the easy way. First, West scored and was fouled, cutting the lead back to a point with less than a minute to go. A smart timeout from Lawrence Frank produced an RJ drive and score on an isolation to bring it back to 3 with :48 to go, and after a Seattle timeout, West tried to get it to Green but it was picked off by Kidd, who hit a free throws after being fouled. Four point game, Durant was fouled by Kidd, but he made only one free throw, so after another timeout by Frank, Jefferson missed a jumper and the Sonics rebounded with a chance to tie the game with a three. But Frank wasn’t about to let that happen after the numerous debacles last season, so Carter immediately fouled West, who blew the first free throw, intentionally missed the second, and when RJ was sandwiched on the rebound, it was over.

Big win, not exactly clean after losing a 10 point lead in the fourth, but the Nets will certainly take it. Onward to LA, and a chance to get back to .500.

Green Grow The Rushes
Sowing The Seeds – OK, the offense wasn’t exactly killer, but it was more than good enough, especially after the six game skid. No long offensive droughts (though there is reason to be concerned the Nets couldn’t quite handle the Sonics zone), plenty of space for all to operate, and more than enough from Kidd, Carter and Jefferson to build a win.
Clean Thoughts – Give it up for Richard Jefferson, back to being an All Star after a short hiatus, in no small part thanks to Vince Carter’s return to the lineup. He had 30 points, figured out quickly to take it to the hoop since the Sonics are mostly powerless to get stops in there, and led the Nets party inside (they had 44 points in the paint, a season high).Carter, on the other hand, was the fuel that got the Nets fires stoked, hitting that in rhythm three right at the exact moment the Nets needed some momentum. It appears that he now has two bad thumbs and two bad ankles after injuring one of each during this game (to match the ones he hurt early in the season). The Man needs to catch a break somewhere.
Collecting the Garbage – the Nets were active on the defensive front on this one, finding 21 Sonic turnovers to burn and churn into points. Kidd led the way with 4 steals, and despite a few late mishaps on defense, the Nets did a great job building a wall the Sonics couldn’t seem to hurdle over for most of the game. Kidd and Wright (and RJ too) did a great job on the rookie Durant, holding him to 4 – 12 shooing and only 4 points through the first three quarters of the game.
Green Ware – OK, we’ll admit it – we’ve already got a crush on Jeff Green of the Sonics, who had a double double of 14 points and 14 boards, did everything with energy, and looked like a finished pro out of college, not a clueless one. Good pickup by the Sonics for Ray Allen, anyway. We also admit we don’t like Wally Szczerbiak on this team. Although he was quick to punish a defensively struggling Boki Nachbar, little else he did helped this young team.
Not So Wooden – we’d be remiss if we didn’t comment on the nice game that Malik Allen had, finding himself open while the Sonics tried to deal with Big Three and making a bunch of open jumpers. He finished with 12 and 6. Nachbar, Josh Boone, and Sean Williams also had good efforts off the bench, while Eddie Gill at least gave Kidd some rest (Carter played the point for a spell in the second half to get Kidd some rest). We have to think that Jamaal Magloire, with another DNP – CD under his belt, is wondering why the Nets paid all that money for him. Nenad Krstic, on the other hand, also a DNP – CD, needed a break from his struggles, and tonight he got one.

Green Acres
Thankfully, the game after Thanksgiving (that kept me awake until 1:15 AM, something I’ve yet to recover from) was filled with things to be thankful about, from the performances of Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, Malik Allen, and the rest of the Nets. This young Sonics team gave the Nets a bit of a scare, true, and there was as much not to like as there was to like, but in the end, it’s a win and it counts. With one game left in the four game swing (against the Lakers), the Nets have a chance to hava a 3 – 1 trip, get back to .500, and restore some of the good feelings that Netsfans had about this team after the 4 – 1 start. Here’s hoping the Nets continue to build off this one.
-Joe