Joe Netsfan Playoffs - R1, G6 - Nets 96, Pacers 90

Johnson may have scored more, but no one was bigger in Game 6 than RJ

Nets 96, Pacers 90
Round 1, Game 6 File
The Nets move on to Round Two with a victory in Indiana, but not before Anthony Johnson's unconscious night nearly sends this one to a Game 7. With a seemingly insurmountable double-digit lead, the Pacers come back and the Nets get pushed to the limit in the fourth quarter before Nenad Krstic scores 7 key points and Richard Jefferson's soaring block of Jermaine O'Neal finally ends the Pacers' night.
• Box Score

Series Record: 4 - 2

Nets High Men:
• Points: Richard Jefferson, 30.
• Assists: Jason Kidd, 11.
• Rebounds: Jason Kidd, 12.
• Steals: Carter and Krstic each had 2.
• Turnovers: Jefferson and Carter each had 3.
• Blocks: Jefferson and Robinson each had 1.
• FG Percentage: Richard Jefferson, 76.9% (10 - 13).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 46.5%
• FT Percentage: 87.0%
• Rebounds: 44
• Rebound Differential: +14
• Turnovers: 16
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 12
• Bench points: 17
• Bench points Differential: +17
• Steals: 7
• Blocks: 2
• Points in the Paint: 24
• Double-Doubles: 1 (Jason Kidd: 12 rebounds, 11 assists)
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 3
• Nets Fast Break Points: 8
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 25.0% (3 - 12).
• Scoring Differential Kidd in the game: +1
• Scoring Differential Kidd out: +5 (Vaughn)
• Double-Doubles this Season: 18
• Triple Doubles this Season: 4
• Career Triple Doubles: 71

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

Pacers Media
Indianapolis Star | Pacers

Rd1, G6: Nets 96, Pacers 90 – May 4, 2006
Sealed With A Swat
With ex-Net Anthony Johnson lighting up the Nets for a career-high 40 points on a night where nothing could go wrong for him as he led his crippled team back from certain defeat in the fourth quarter tonight, no one would have been surprised if Johnson sank a game winning shot that forced a Game 7. Fortunately for stressed out Netsfans, Richard Jefferson made sure the Nets came away with a victory in Indiana that sends the Nets to the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Starting off poorly thanks to more Pacer zone defense the Nets had to know was coming, plus a near-constant double team on Vince Carter, New Jersey was mostly horrible, inexplicably lacking defensive intensity and ringing up early fouls at an alarming rate. Instead of saying, "well, that's how it's going to be played", the Nets were content to try to shoot over the zone and settling for poorly thought out schemes. Meanwhile, Johnson was absolutely shredding Jason Kidd, who compounded the misery by misfiring horribly on the offensive end. Only Richard Jefferson, as usual, seemed to understand what it was going to take to win this game. Missing Nenad Krstic due to early foul trouble for much of the first half, RJ's 14 points carried the Nets until a late burst by Carter put the Nets into an underserved tie at halftime.

But the third quarter started on the right footing, as Kidd finally made two huge threes to key a 20 - 9 Net run and an 11 point lead midway through the third quarter. But Johnson, like Beetlejuice, just kept coming and coming, even as the Nets tried to throw the kitchen sink at him, and AJ torched the Nets for 13 points, making 6 of 7 shots, to get the Pacers to within 5 with more than 8 minutes to play in the game. Luckily for the Nets, Lamond Murray hit two big shots late in the third to offset Carter's continued woes, while RJ was continuing to do whatever he could to bust that zone defense.

With the Pacers at 5, Carter locked up and that zone starting to rattle the Nets, Nenad Krstic was the cure as he banged in 7 of the Nets' next 9 points, but after Jermaine O'Neal and Carter offset each other with baskets, Johnson hit a dagger three that got the Pacers to within 2 points with 56 seconds to play. The Nets, clearly sweating everything now, were doubling Johnson every time down the court, and with another Carter missed jumper, Johnson came down the court, misfired on a jumper and was bailed out by O'Neal's huge offensive rebound. O'Neal went back up to take the shot but was swatted away by Jefferson with 26 seconds remaining to protect the lead. Krstic then calmly iced two big free throws, and the Nets had survived.

A big hug and a kiss to Anthony Johnson, who played so well that Nets' announcer Mark Jackson was calling him "Magic" Johnson, but the fact remains that the Nets just outlasted the Pacers and will now face the Miami Heat in the second round.

Stress Reaction
Unglued - The Nets won a big game tonight, but Joe's still going to start with the negative. That was a very poor display of defense by New Jersey tonight, and perhaps the only reason they move on is because the Pacers were just short-handed enough (again missing Stojakovic, Tinsley and Foster) to not help out poor Anthony Johnson. Worse yet, they seemed to come unglued defensively at the worst times, just after taking a decent lead. The Nets never looked like they wanted to advance, at least defensively, and were hard pressed to stop any Pacer shots (the Pacers shot 47%, most on the strength of Johnson's 70% shooting, as well as Jermaine O'Neal's 8 of 14). That won't get it done against Miami, Netsfans. All that will do is lead to more stress...especially if Kidd plays like he did in this series on the defensive end.
Much Love - How about Richard Jefferson, the underrated Net? RJ was the key to the Nets hanging in this one despite being badly outplayed, as his 14 points in the first half kept the Nets from falling behind by double digits. While the rest of the Nets were running around as if they'd never seen a zone before, RJ was as usual efficient. And when it came time for the Nets to get a stop they desperately needed, RJ was there for the rescue. For the game, he had 30 points on a ridiculous 10 of 13 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and that huge block in 47 minutes of game action. He's the most consistent Net as well, by the way. Thank goodness he's around.
Blockade - Both teams bunched up in the middle (excellent strategy against the Nets), forcing things outside. But a huge and really unnoticed key for the Nets in this one was their continued domination on the boards (mostly thanks to the missing Jeff Foster), which allowed the Nets to at least keep things level as they were turning the ball over foolishly and misfiring in the first half. Only 24 points in the paint tonight, as the Pacers doubled Carter, got Krstic out of the game for long stretches with foul trouble, and forced the Nets outside.
Not Kidding - Does this Net team have what it takes to play into June, especially if Jason Kidd looks so ordinary? He had a world of trouble staying in front of Johnson, he's shooting about 25% for the series, and has not been a major factor in most of this series. This is not a good sign for the Nets, unless Kidd can figure out a way to reverse the trend in the next round. On the positive side, he was a bucket away from a triple double...
Equality And Fairness - Again with the refs! The Nets could not get calls all game, while the Pacers were the beneficiaries of some weak fouls. Several time the Nets drove the lane, got whacked around, missed a shot, and got no call, while Kidd was called for touching Anthony Johnson at center court. OK, perhaps these were make-up calls for all the whining the Pacers have done about what they felt were unfair calls, especially to Jermaine O'Neal, but O'Neal stayed free of foul trouble tonight and was still an afterthough to a former NBA journeyman. O'Neal can whine all he wants about everything, but in the end, he came up small when he needed to come up like a superstar. Sure, 21 points is nice, but he didn't carry his team to victory, which is how he'll be measured.
Unsung And Unloved - Joe has to call out some special performers in this one. Nenad Krstic, for saving the Nets bacon when they couldn't figure out how to get Carter to save them in the fourth quarter. Nice 17 points in only 24 minutes of action. Lamond Murray, who had to replace Krstic and Jason Collins who was MIA while getting stitched up, made three huge baskets, scored 8 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and played 22 effective minutes. And Collins, who got smacked in the mouth with an elbow, just keeps on coming. Lastly, though his offensive shooting was as bad as Kidd's, Jacque Vaughn actually picked up the Nets offense while Kidd was resting (check the plus/minus). And on the Pacer side, we're not at all disappointed that another former Net came up pretty small in this one - Stephen "Crazy Train" Jackson, thanks for all the memories, mostly of you complaining and running your mouth.
Sage Advice - Joe had this series going 6 games, by the way...

Turn The Page
The Nets continue on to the second round and get the Heat as their date, but thanks to Richard Jefferson, Nenad Krstic, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Jason Collins, Lamond Murray, Cliff Robinson and Jacque Vaughn, we are spared the agony of a Game 7. This series was wildly uneven for New Jersey (if I were the Heat I'd start practicing my zone defense), with flurries of great defense and crisp offense giving way to matador defense and inept offense, often within the same quarter. Carter was huge in this series, but tonight he seemed to forget what made him successful in Games 4 and 5 (though credit Rick Carlisle and the Pacers for a great game plan). Jefferson was consistent, Krstic was a monster and the supporting cast for the most part did their thing. Jason Kidd, however, bares watching - if he's as inconsistent as he was in this series against the Heat, the Nets will be suffering some anxious moments. The prior season succes against the Heat means nothing now, but hopefully the Nets wil be prepared for Shaq, Dwyane and the rest of the Miami Vices come this weekend.
– Joe