Hornets-Nets Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Mar 16 2012 11:38PM

Though New Jersey did not acquire the superstar it hoped, the move the Nets did pull off prior to the trade deadline could make them a better team for the rest of the season.

Veteran forward Gerald Wallace could make his debut for the Nets on Saturday night when they try to hand the visiting New Orleans Hornets a fourth consecutive defeat.

New Jersey (15-30) was reportedly one of the teams that Orlando star Dwight Howard was interested in joining before he decided shortly before Thursday's trade deadline to waive the early termination option in his contract and stay with the Magic through at least next season.

With Howard out of the picture as the marquee name the club wanted to begin play in its Brooklyn arena next season, the Nets instead acquired Wallace from Portland for Mehmet Okur's expiring contract, forward Shawne Williams and a protected first-round pick.

Though Wallace is by no means the caliber of player as Howard, the 11th-year forward could be a nice addition to a lineup that has the potential to be effective when star guard Deron Williams (calf) and big man Brook Lopez (ankle) return from injuries.

"I can understand fan base wanting (more)," general manager Billy King told the Nets' official website. "But I think in doing so, I'd rather try building the roster and adding the piece and also keeping (salary) cap flexibility.

"(Wallace) understands and knows what we're trying to do, so he's pretty excited."

Caught in a crowded forward situation in Portland, Wallace averaged 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 42 games - lows for both in the last four seasons. However, his veteran presence could help the Nets as they try to make a push into playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Wallace's possible presence Saturday could provide a boost as New Jersey tries to bounce back from an 86-70 loss at Orlando on Friday. The short-handed Nets shot 33.7 percent and got only 27 points from their starters while losing for the third time in four games.

(This was) a tough one for us," coach Avery Johnson said.

Despite the rough night in Florida and with Williams likely to miss a fifth straight game, the Nets still have a good chance to rebound against a New Orleans team that has dropped three in a row and 11 of 14.

Hours after the Western Conference-worst Hornets (10-34) remained silent at the deadline, Chris Kaman had 20 points and rookie Gustavo Ayon added 16 with nine rebounds in a 99-89 home loss to lowly Washington on Thursday.

Though the Hornets' last three defeats have each come by 10 points or fewer, all came at home, further shredding the team's overall confidence.

"I hate losing, and we seem to lose almost every time that we step out on the floor," forward Trevor Ariza said. "It's pretty frustrating."

The subject of constant trade rumors, Kaman is averaging 16.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in the last 17 games. He's averaged 23.0 and 9.3 boards in his last three against the Nets.

New Jersey has won two of three against the Hornets following a five-game skid in the series.

Hornets earn 102-94 win over Nets

Posted Mar 17 2012 11:36PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) With his young team down 12 entering the fourth quarter on the road, New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams said only one thing to them.

"I told them that they had to remain poised," said Williams, whose team erased the double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to stun the New Jersey Nets 102-94 Saturday night.

"We just played the right way down the stretch. Sometimes, teams just miss shots and the opponent makes shots. A lot of teams would have quit playing, but our team had a huge amount of poise. Our defense was good down the stretch and we made shots. The execution only looks good when you make shots."

The Hornets made three huge shots with the shot clock winding down to improve to 11-34.

First, Jarrett Jack, who had 16 points, calmly made a 3-pointer with 1:28 remaining, giving the Hornets the lead for good at 95-94.

Then, Chris Kaman, who scored 20 points, hit a huge 23-foot jumper with a second left on the shot clock and 45 seconds left in the game to push the lead to 97-94.

Marco Belinelli sealed the win with a fall-away 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left, also with the shot clock down to a second. Belinelli also scored 20 points for the Hornets.

"We were down, but we never panicked," Belinelli said. "Me, Jack, Chris, we all made big shots and that's how we won this game. I think everyone was happy to get this one."

No one was happier than New Jersey native Lance Thomas, who scored 10 points off the bench, including six in the fourth quarter, four on consecutive dunks and two on a left-handed hook shot in the closing minutes.

"It is amazing for me to do this well in front of so many family and friends," said Thomas, the former Duke product who hails from nearby Scotch Plains, N.J., and played as a professional close to home for the first time. "It's a dream come true to play at this level.

"It was a long, hard road to get here, but that just makes me appreciate it more. It felt good that Coach Williams had the confidence in me to play me down the stretch. It's a great moment for me."

The Nets held an 82-70 lead going into the fourth quarter, but lost the lead in the final period.

"When you get outscored 32-12 in the fourth quarter, it's never good," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "We missed layups. We missed open jump shots. We had shots blocked at the basket. We missed some opportunities."

Deron Williams had 20 points and 12 assists for the Nets. They also got 20 points from Anthony Morrow and 16 from Gerald Green off the bench.

Both Morrow and Green were disappointed after the loss.

"This was tough, because we were in control most of the game," Morrow said. "We were not able to slow them down in the fourth quarter. We couldn't get anything going offensively. It's tough to watch everything unravel like this. It's a tough situation to see everything come apart like that."

"We have to be able to win games like this," Green said. "We played well for so long and then watched it slip away."

Gerald Wallace, making his debut with the Nets after being acquired in a trade with Portland before Thursday's trading deadline, scored 11 points.

The Nets took the lead in the late stages of the first quarter, thanks to the bench play of guard Morrow, who scored seven points in a span of 2:23.

Morrow's corner jumper gave the Nets the lead at 22-20 with 3:58 left and the Nets held a 29-26 lead after one quarter.

The Nets then maintained a 51-47 halftime lead, with 12 second-quarter points from Green, whose second 10-day contract with the Nets expires Sunday.

The Nets extended their lead to 82-70 after three periods. Morrow scored 11 in the third and Wallace added seven, including a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving New Jersey its biggest lead of the night.

Thomas had two consecutive dunks early in the fourth quarter that brought the Hornets within 82-76, but Williams hit two straight jumpers that brought the lead back to 86-78 with 6:30 left.

The Hornets got even in the fourth quarter, when Kaman hit two free throws, tying the game at 88-88 with 3:48 left. The teams continued to trade scores for the next minute, until Williams and Green connected on consecutive baskets to give the Nets a 94-90 lead.

After Jack and Kaman made their shots, the Nets had a chance to draw closer, but Deron Williams missed a driving shot with 38.5 seconds left, sealing yet another home loss for New Jersey.

Belinelli's shot with 16.8 seconds remaining put the capper on the win for New Orleans.

"Our defense was good down the stretch, getting stop after stop," Hornets coach Williams said. "They were hot early, but they missed the shots late."

NOTES: Wallace said that the trade to New Jersey "kind of caught me by surprise. I didn't see it coming. I asked my agent if anything was happening and it came as kind of a shock to me." ... Backup point guard Jordan Farmar missed his second straight game with a strained right groin, but Nets coach Avery Johnson expects Farmar to play Monday night against Cleveland.

Notebook: Hornets 102, Nets 94

Posted Saturday March 17, 2012 11:15PM

By Abe Schwadron, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Jarrett Jack, Chris Kaman and Marco Bellinelli each hit long jumpers in the game's waning moments, while Deron Williams missed twice in the final minute, and the New Orleans Hornets overcame a 12-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to spoil Gerald Wallace's Nets debut and beat the New Jersey Nets, 102-94 at the Prudential Center on Saturday night.

Jack drilled a 3-pointer to give New Orleans a one-point lead with 1:28 to play and Kaman made a desperation heave to beat the shot clock on the next Hornets possession to put the Nets in a 97-94 hole. After Williams missed a driving runner at the other end, Bellinelli delivered the dagger on a fading shot from beyond the arc with 16.8 remaining.

Kaman and Bellinelli each poured in 20 points to lead New Orleans, which shot 51 percent from the field as a team. Wallace scored 11 points in 37 minutes in his first game with New Jersey, while Williams led the Nets with 20 points and 12 assists in his first game back since missing four straight contests with a calf injury.

QUOTABLE: "Words can't even describe it to be honest. That's really what's been happening to us all season man...We just haven't been able to close out games for whatever the reason may be. Tonight we were able to put it all together and pull out a W."
-- Hornets guard Jack, on New Orleans finally being able to close out a game.

THE STAT: Led by Morrow and Gerald Green (16 points), the Nets bench outscored New Orleans' 38 to 28, but New Jersey is 4-14 when outscoring the opponent's bench, and the Hornets bench outdid the Nets' in other areas. New Orleans' bench totaled 11 assists and 17 rebounds, to just four assists and 10 rebounds for the Nets' second unit.

TURNING POINT: After Wallace hit a 3-pointer from the corner that beat the third-quarter buzzer and gave the Nets a 12-point lead heading into the fourth, all the momentum was with New Jersey. But the Hornets didn't let the Nets blow things open, instead responding with a 6-0 run to open the fourth and keep them in the game.

QUOTABLE II: "We got 20 games left in the regular season, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this group finishes the season. And to me, it was kind of the intro, but we definitely have a lot of work to do."
-- Nets head coach Avery Johnson.

HOT: Morrow was on fire from deep, making all four of his 3-point attempts and shooting 8-for-13 from the field to score 20 points, tying Williams for New Jersey's team-high on the night. It's his seventh game of 20 or more points this season.

NOT: The Nets in the fourth quarter. New Jersey was outscored 32-12 in the final period, thanks to 5-for-23 field goal shooting (22 percent). The Nets missed all three of their 3-point attempts in the fourth, and only Williams scored more than two points (he had six).

GOOD MOVE: Getting Wallace in the starting lineup, no matter how little he knew about the Nets' offense. Wallace scored his first two points as a Net on an alley-oop from Williams early in the first quarter and brought defensive intensity from the outset. As expected, he filled up the stat sheet even in a loss, registering three rebounds, three assists and a season-high three blocked shots to go with his 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting.

NOTABLE: Hornets center Jason Smith saw his first action in over a month, and scored six points on 3-for-9 shooting in 20 minutes of action. Smith missed 20 games with a concussion, before which he was averaging 8.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

QUOTABLE III: "We might have to get him a helmet or something, because he plays so hard, he's bound to get hit in the head. He plays the way I did, that's why I love him so much. He just gives it up every night."

-- Hornets head coach Monty Williams, on [Jason] Smith's return from a concussion.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Wallace is wearing No. 45 with the Nets, after wearing No. 3 for the entirety of his previous 10-plus seasons in the NBA. New Jersey retired No. 3 in 1993 after the tragic death of former shooting guard Drazen Petrovic, whose name hangs in the rafters at The Rock.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Monday vs. Cavaliers, Wednesday vs. Wizards, Friday @ Atlanta. For the Hornets, Wednesday vs. Warriors, Thursday vs. Clippers, Saturday vs. Spurs.

• Hornets: Gordon
• Nets: James, Lopez

• Hornets: --
• Nets: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #63 Derek Richardson, #35 Kane Fitzgerald
• Attendance: 11271
• Duration: 2:06