MIAMI – In the end, all the hope, all the expectations, all the lofty goals ended with some red-rimmed eyes, downcast faces, bitter disappointment and perhaps a streak of resentment.
Playoff elimination will do that to a team. Check out the Nets.
The marker board in their locker room before the game held a motivational message: “Start of Our Finest Hour . . . Belief-Trust-Execution . . . Why Not Us?”
Instead of their finest hour, however, last night marked the start of another disappointing summer for the Nets. They certainly didn’t go quietly into the night, battling the Heat down to the last second before Dwyane Wade slapped away Jason Kidd’s inbound, meant for a stumbling Vince Carter. As the crowd exploded for the Heat, the Nets walked away with a 106-105 loss, and elimination from the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“They all hurt. One point, 30 points, 10 points. A loss is a loss and they were the better team in this series, but we didn’t go away easy,” said Kidd (20 points, 8 assists).
“It’s hard right now to think about the season; we’re just disappointed . . . I just think I could have done better,” said coach Lawrence Frank, author of the pre-game message and owner of the gloomiest post-game face, a mug that looked like he’d lost his puppy dog.
“We thought we’d go a lot further than the second round, but we have to keep our heads up. We fought right to the end,” said Jason Collins. “We have to defend better than that. There was one other factor, but I’m not going to talk about that.”
That factor undoubtedly was teammate Cliff Robinson, who was suspended for five games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. The Nets were severely shorthanded in his absence following Game 1. The situation certainly did not ease the hurt.
“If you don’t win a championship, every year it is going to be painful,” said Richard Jefferson, who scored a career playoff-best 33 points. “Especially if you make it to the playoffs every year and win the division four years out of five.”
The Nets raced to the lead and were up by as many as 12 points, but once again Miami – with six players in double figures, led by Antoine Walker with 23 and Wade with 21 – just kept coming. Miami seemed to have oceanic depth, but the Nets continued to attack.
“We got to the basket, we still did what we had to do,” said Carter, who also scored 33 points. “We fell two points short of the win. We did what we had to do. We attacked the basket, we just tried to get to the line and be aggressive, and that’s what we were.”
And when it came to the end, the Nets were within one point. After Gary Payton missed a jumper at :03.9, they rebounded and called time with :01.4 on the clock.
“I got tangled up with Udonis Haslem, everyday contact, so you can’t blame it on that. Good defensive play by Dwyane; he got his hand on it, and it’s history,” said Carter.
“The Nets played great,” said Heat coach Pat Riley. “The last three games, anyone could have won them, and we were fortunate to do it. So we’re moving on.”
So, why not the Nets? Well, Wade scored 17 of his points after halftime. Walker hit a monster 3-pointer to give Miami a 105-99 lead with 1:56 left. Once again, the Nets just didn’t execute at the most important times.
“A play here and there,” uttered Collins.
“We had our opportunities and, again in this whole series, we couldn’t make the right play at the right time,” Kidd said.
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Nets vs. Heat
At a glance
Game Date Site Time TV Radio
Game 1 Nets 100, Heat 88
Game 2 Heat 111, Nets 89
Game 3 Heat 103, Nets 92
Game 4 Heat 102, Nets 92
Game 5 Heat 106, Nets 105
HEAT WIN SERIES, 4-1
