NET NOTES

LOS ANGELES – Byron Scott insists he used only words. Simple, common-sense words. No real grand-standing or sticking his head in a bucket of ice water. And yet when he spoke to the Nets and convinced them they had lost only one game in their historic collapse in Game 3 of the Boston series, he may have earned the Nets their trip to the Finals.

“I think it is the most important thing that happened this year,” said Scott. “If these guys go into Game 4 feeling we’ve lost the series, then we’re not here.”

Remember Game 3? Up 21 points entering the fourth, down four – and a game – leaving the fourth. Conventional wisdom said the Nets were dead. Scott had to convince them they were not.

“He’s been in that situation. He always went back to when [the Lakers] got blown out in Boston and he always said, ‘It was only one loss, keep your head up,’ ” recalled Lucious Harris. “We knew what we did. And we came back. But a lot came from him. He was the only one who’d been in that situation, so you have to listen to him.”

*

Aaron Williams, the stoic Net, gave his most sarcastic but humorous reply when he was asked if he needed help to guard Shaquille O’Neal or if he could do it himself. “Oh, yeah, I’ll take him. He can’t score on me,” Williams said, before turning serious. “It’s got to be a team effort. We need lots of help.”

How many ticket requests did L.A. native Keith Van Horn receive? “Too many,” he said . . . You can’t say Jason Collins doesn’t pick up on things. He started and faced Shaq in March for one game. He was asked what he learned. “He’s a very good player.” . . . If Shaq is “Superman,” as his tattoo says, what is Todd MacCulloch? “Wonderboy,” the Nets’ center deadpanned.

Kerry Kittles is about to play in his 99th game of the season. Not bad for a guy who sat all last season after knee surgery while his career was in doubt. “Wow, I’ll take it. It is great. Obviously, the turnaround with the team and for me being back after a year off and to play an entire season and in all the postseason games, it is a remarkable accomplishment,” Kittles said.

*

Phil Jackson may often act as if he invented basketball, but Willis Reed, the Nets’ senior VP, recalls a different guy when they played together on the Knicks.

“He was a great teammate, but he was always a little different,” Reed said of the Laker coach, who is trying for his ninth NBA title. “The one thing he always brought was his ability to play defense. He was a very smart guy, very intelligent guy. Very analytical. He was the guy when he went out, you knew he had been on the court because the game changed because of his defense.

“Phil is what he needs to be when he needs to be it. He knows sometimes he needs to be a nice guy and sometimes he needs to be an arrogant guy.”