Nets can't get over squandered shot
N.J. frustrated after failing to dust off Detroit
 Bill Kostroun / AP Dejected Nets' Kerry Kittles, left, and Richard Jefferson look on in the closing seconds of New Jersey's Game 6 loss to Detroit on Sunday. |
 | Slideshow |
 | more photos |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 Abdul-Jabbar managing his illness Nov. 15: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants to be very clear that his cancer was caught early and that he's not dealing with a death sentence. |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning question about your favorite team or player? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag on the 1st and 15th of each month. |  |
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Kenyon Martin wasn’t in the mood to talk about Game 7 against the Pistons after watching the Nets give away Game 6, jeopardizing a third straight trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” Martin said minutes after Detroit forced a deciding game with an 81-75 win at New Jersey on Sunday night. “I’m thinking about (how) we lost a good opportunity to close this thing out. It’s the only thing on my mind right now.”
The more Martin spoke about the game, though, the more you could see his frustration.
It was a common sight in the locker room, where players dressed quickly and tried to leave even faster.
This was a game and a series the Nets had in their grasp and they let slip away.
Coming off the emotional high of a triple overtime win Friday night, the two-time defending conference champion Nets jumped to a 15-4 lead in the opening five minutes of Game 6.
Martin started the run with a spinning move on Ben Wallace. By the time Kerry Kittles hit a fast-break layup with 7:12 to play in the quarter for the 11-point lead, the sellout crowd was on its feet in anticipation of another season-ending knockout blow against the Pistons.
The final big punch never came.
Detroit responded with a 46-21 spurt and went to the locker room with a 50-36 halftime lead.
“They made a run at us and we just didn’t answer,” center Jason Collins said. “The second half we did a better job and showed more energy on the defensive end, but we didn’t have a solid defensive effort.”
New Jersey got back in the game in the third quarter and started the fourth quarter down 60-57. The margin was cut to two points four times in the final 3:57, but the Nets never got the tie. Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton hit big shots in the final 61 seconds.
“I’m disappointed for us, disappointed for our fans,” Richard Jefferson said. “I believed they deserved that. This team had been doubted on different occasions, so we get a chance to go to Game 7 and get a win.”
Beating the Pistons in Detroit won’t be easy.
“We better get ready, look at what we did wrong, play the best four quarters of our lives come Thursday, stay together and just be patient,” All-Star point guard Jason Kidd said. “We let an opportunity go, but it’s not the end of the series.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
LowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM NBA |
 NBA Section Front |
| Add NBA headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links