EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, 11 June 2003 — Knowing the San Antonio Spurs have not lost three games in a row all season, the New Jersey Nets have a “do or die” attitude for game four of the National Basketball Association finals.
The Spurs, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, would reach the brink of their second championship in five years by winning Game Four here today.
“We’ve got to come out and win game four no matter what if we want to have a chance to win this series,” Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd said. “We’re going to have to come out and play well in this do-or-die situation.”
The Nets could level the series but face a huge hole if they lose. No club has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA finals.
“We have to treat game four like it’s game seven because we know the odds down 3-1 ain’t that great,” Nets forward Kenyon Martin said. “Our backs are against the wall and that’s how we have to play.”
The Nets must attack the Spurs from the start to have a chance as salvaging their title dream, New Jersey center Dikembe Mutombo said.
“The fourth game is going to be a must-win,” Mutombo said. “We have to come and jump on them from the beginning, be very aggressive.” NBA Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan leads the Spurs in the finals with 24 points, 16 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game. He could join Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Bird as the only men to lead those areas in the playoffs for a champion.
“There’s no way to win this entire thing by yourself,” Duncan said. “I have to rely on my teammates and I have a lot of confidence in these guys.”
Spurs guard Tony Parker, a 21-year-old Frenchman, is averaging 21 points. Malik Rose, David Robinson, Stephen Jackson and NBA newcomer Emanuel Ginobili of Argentina also have played critical supporting roles in the title quest.
“I don’t want to think too much about what happens if we win. It takes the focus off your game,” Ginobili said. “It’s hard to describe. It would be really special. Having been a fan for so long, it would be awesome.”
Martin leads New Jersey with 19.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a game while Kidd has contributed 17.3 points, eight assists and six rebounds a game. But Martin struggles to dim Duncan’s dominance and Kidd has been unable to stop Parker.
“I have to make a better effort at trying to slow him down a little bit or making it a little bit tougher,” Kidd said. “But he has made some tough shots even though I was on him.” Also struggling is Nets forward Richard Jefferson, thrown off his game by the need to help double-team Duncan on defense.
“He’s pressing a little bit. He wants to play well so bad,” Martin said. “He has maybe put a bit too much pressure on himself. He just needs to slow down and relax a little bit.”
“He’s pressing and forcing things,” Kidd added. “It’s a matter of relaxing and not feeling like he has to carry so much of the offensive load.” Jefferson showed his frustration when asked if the Nets needed to rethink their strategy. “If we would have been pissed off and acting like little girls after we lost game one, we wouldn’t have won game two,” Jefferson said.
