09.03.2005

NEW JERSEY (86) AT NEW ORLEANS (85)
Stats

After referee Bennie Adams gave him a 
chance, J.R. Smith looked his age.

Smith was unable to convert at the free-throw line with 1.5
seconds remaining in overtime, allowing the New Jersey Nets to
escape with an 86-85 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

In a wild ending to an otherwise sloppy game, the Nets had taken
an 86-84 lead with 2.5 seconds left when Jason Kidd converted a
three-point play.

The basket came after Jason Collins missed two free throws and
had a short follow blocked before Kidd ran down the ball in the
corner and made a driving layup while banging into Chris
Andersen, who hit the floor hard.

"At that point, after the miss, I tried to go in and try to get
it to the basket," Kidd said.  "I took a peek at the clock, to
see if we had time.  Everybody was scrambling.  My first
reaction was to drive it to the basket.  If I get fouled, I make
the free throws, and if not, I lay it in."

Following a timeout, the Hornets went to Smith, a 19-year-old
rookie who had a big second half.  The Nets had a foul to give
and Kidd grabbed Smith as he was attempting to shoot.  Mike
Callahan initially ruled the foul was on the floor before he was
overruled by Adams, sending Smith to the line with a chance to
win it.

"We went and told the officials that we were going to foul once
the ball was in," Kidd said.  "There's no way, unless somebody
is facing the basket, that it should be three shots.  I didn't
think Smith was facing the basket when he caught the ball."

A 70 percent foul shooter, Smith missed his first two attempts,
then banked in his final attempt while trying to miss.

"I've beaten myself up over it because I know I should have made
the free throws," Smith said.  "Yet at the same time I have to
regroup and prepare myself for the next game."

The misses overshadowed a productive night for one of the
Hornets' building blocks.  Smith scored 17 of his 23 points
after halftime as New Orleans rallied from a 19-point deficit.

"I thought he (Smith) made some big shots and some smart plays,"
Hornets coach Byron Scott said.  "Unfortunately at the end,
that's the part he's going to think about the most instead of
how really well he's developing and how far he's come along."

Vince Carter had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Kidd contributed
15 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds for the Nets, who
stopped a three-game losing streak.

Kidd moved past Tim Hardaway into 11th-place on the all-time
assists list.  Kidd has 7,101 career assists.

"It's one of those games, after we've lost three in a row, that
we just have to find a way to win," Nets coach Lawrence Frank
said.  "I thought Jason showed his warrior spirit.  Him getting
that offensive rebound and driving it right to the rim was just
huge.  That's what separates him from others.  It wasn't pretty,
but we just had to find a way to win, and our guys did that."

Jacque Vaughn scored 12 points in the first half, helping the
Nets to a 45-34 advantage.

But the Hornets battled back after intermission and pulled even
at 75-75 with 58 seconds left in the fourth quarter after Speedy
Claxton split a pair of free throws.

After Carter and Andersen traded baskets, the Hornets had a
chance to win it but Bostjan Nachbar missed a 3-pointer as time
expired in regulation.

Andersen hustled his way to 12 points and 11 rebounds.  He even
did a few push-ups after his follow shot tied the game at 77-77
with 30 seconds left in regulation.