Pacers 101 – Nets 91
With 3:06 remaining in the first quarter, Vince Carter drove to the basket from the left wing and aggravated his right hamstring.
Carter came up empty on the layup and came up hobbling, grabbing his hammy before eventually limping to the locker room.
Although they didn’t use Carter’s absence as an excuse, the Nets similarly came up lame in a 101-91 loss to short-handed Indiana.
Every team will lay an egg now and then. So, obviously, Carter’s status is more worrisome than the unexpected defeat.
The Nets guard planned to travel with his teammates to Atlanta last night, but he’s also expected to take an MRI there this morning. Hamstring issues usually linger for more than one or two days. And most teams tread carefully once a player has a hamstring issue to prevent the muscle from becoming torn.
“If everything’s OK, I’ll be out there playing [tonight],” Carter said. “I don’t even know what it is. “I can’t even tell you. It just tightened up. They say it’s a cramp, but we’ll see.”
Officially, it’s listed as a sore hamstring. Carter said he was fouled on the drive, but it didn’t appear his leg was injured by any rough contact. He felt the hamstring “grab” and left immediately, and his absence certainly didn’t help matters.
Up one after one, the Nets (31-24) were stunned by the Pacers in the second quarter, getting outscored 36-22. The Nets had won four straight and were victorious in 14 of their previous 15 home games.
“They just wanted it more, and they were more aggressive,” said Richard Jefferson, who scored a game-high 23 points.
Indiana was sparked by 10 second-quarter points by Peja Stojakovic and 11 more off the bench from Fred Jones. The Pacers played without stars Jermaine O’Neal (groin injury) and Jamaal Tinsley (sore right elbow). That’s why the Nets couldn’t use Carter’s setback as an explanation for a bad loss.
“Look, Indiana’s without half their roster,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said.
Down 15 in the third, the Nets ended the quarter on a 12-2 run. But every time they surged, Stojakovic (22 points) and Jones (22 points) were ready with a dagger.
With 7:15 left, Stojakovic buried a 26-footer from up top with the 24-second clock dwindling to give Indiana a 10-point edge, 85-75.
“I don’t want to see anybody get hurt,” Stojakovic said. “It did help us, though.”
The Nets cut the deficit to five, but Jason Kidd rimmed out a 3-pointer with 5:40 left and Jones buried a 25-foot trey on the ensuing trip down the floor that essentially iced the game.
A 10-game winning streak ended last month when Jefferson missed three games with back spasms, so the concern is that injuries are derailing the Nets just as they’re about to get rolling.
“That’s just the game of basketball,” said Kidd, who scored 19 points with 12 assists. “The good teams respond and hold the ship up until the [star] player gets back.”
