EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, 24 May 2003 — Jason Kidd had 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to power the New Jersey Nets within one game of the NBA Finals with a 97-85 win over the Detroit Pistons Thursday.
New Jersey has a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, and the chance to wrap up its second consecutive East title with a win at home in Game Four today. The Nets have now won nine consecutive playoff games, the fourth longest streak in playoff history, as they look to avenge an embarrassing four-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in last year’s NBA Finals.
Kidd set the tone from the start as he turned in his most complete game of the series while setting a personal playoff high for points. “I just saw a guy that wanted to win the game,” Nets coach Byron Scott told reporters. “He was able to get to the basket pretty easy.
“He did a great job of attacking. We have one more game to win. We can’t let up, we can’t relax, we’ve got to stay focused.”
“It felt good to get out and get some easy baskets,” Kidd said. “We got our hands on a lot of balls and we got a lot of rebounds that led to fast breaks. Anytime you get that, the basket gets bigger.”
Detroit had a five-point lead early in the first quarter but, after Kenyon Martin hit two free throws late in the first quarter, the Nets never trailed again. New Jersey led by five after one quarter, increased it to 11 at the half and were ahead by 15 going into the fourth session as the Pistons looked discouraged after losing two close games at home to start the series.
Martin added 19 points for the Nets while Lucious Harris chipped in with 10. Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 21 points and Ben Wallace had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Clifford Robinson added 15 points while Corliss Williamson had 13.
“New Jersey is playing at a really unbelievably high level right now,” said Detroit coach Rick Carlisle. “I tip my hat to them. They have done a really good job, particularly tonight, of making it tough on us.”
Cavaliers Win Top
Pick in Draft Lottery
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the top pick in the draft lottery Thursday and next month are likely to use it to claim LeBron James, the most hyped high school player in basketball history.
Broadcast live on national television, Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund could not hide his delight, breaking out in a broad smile when NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik announced Cleveland would hold the No. 1 pick in the June 16 draft. “We don’t know who we’re going to pick yet,” joked Gund. The Cavaliers have coveted James, who attended school just a short drive away from Cleveland in Akron, Ohio.
The Cavaliers were fined last year for allowing James to participate in workouts with NBA players and were accused of taking an uncompetitive approach to the past season in order to increase their chances of landing the 18-year-old.
