NEW YORK, 16 May 2004 — Richard Jefferson scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 127-120 triple overtime road win over the Detroit Pistons in Game Five of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
New Jersey leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game Six on their home court in East Rutherford today.
The first four games of the series were all lop-sided affairs, with the home team wining by at least 15 points, but the fifth encounter was tightly-contested all night.
No more than a few points separated the teams for the entire second half and through two overtimes, before the Nets pulled away in the latter stages of the final period. It was the third triple overtime in NBA playoff history.
Kenyon Martin added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Nets before fouling out. Kerry Kittles had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Brian Scalabrine had 17 points coming off the bench for the Nets, including four three-pointers.
Jason Kidd had 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Nets.
Chauncey Billups led Detroit with 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Rasheed Wallace added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Tayshaun Prince added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons, while Ben Wallace had 16 points and 11 rebounds. The teams battled back and forth in the final minutes of regulation and the Pistons sent the game into the first overtime in remarkable fashion.
Trailing by three points with 2.9 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Billups hit a desperation three-point shot from just inside the center line to force the extra session.
Billups had another chance to win the game with a final second shot at the end of the first overtime, but this time his shot missed, leaving the teams tied 99-99 after one extra session.
Sprewell and Garnett Lead Wolves to Within a Game of West Final
Latrell Sprewell scored 34 points and Kevin Garnett added 23 with 12 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 86-74 home win over the Sacramento Kings in Game Five of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday.
The Timberwolves lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can wrap up the series when it returns to Sacramento for Game Six today.
The first four games of the series were all decided by six points or less, but the Timberwolves took control of the fifth in the second half and pulled away in the final quarter. Sprewell was dominant for the Timberwolves, who had never won a playoff series before this year, going 13-for-21 from the field with three key 3-pointers.
Garnett and Sprewell carried the load for Minnesota, scoring 57 of their team’s 86 points as no other Minnesota player hit double-digits in scoring. Sam Cassell was held to just three points as he battled through back spasms for the T-Wolves, but he did have seven assists and four rebounds. Mark Madsen had 13 rebounds and seven points for the winners.
Mike Bibby had 14 points to lead the Kings, but Sacramento shot just 33 percent from the floor and had trouble all night with Minnesota’s tenacious defense. Chris Webber had just 13 points for the Kings and Peja Stojakovic added just 12.
Brad Miller did not score a point for the Kings and had 10 rebounds but was ejected in the third quarter following an altercation with Darrick Martin, who was also thrown out.
There’s a possibility that Miller could be suspended for the next game in the series, which would be a huge blow to Sacramento’s hopes of staying alive in the postseason.
