June 29, 2023 • 33 mins
In the third episode of "Something To Prove: The Story of the 2002 & 2003 Nets," we look at the Round 1 matchup of the 2002 Playoffs - Pacers vs. Nets. We look at Kerry Kittles' comeback, the 3-pointer that shouldn't have counted, and how the Nets rallied together in what may be the most important win in Nets history.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
There wasn't a day in two thousand and two that
the New Jersey Nets were not in first place in
the Eastern Conference. They had trashed the expectations. Jason Kidd
brought playmaking genius and a new ambition from Phoenix, but
his preseason goals have been met with waves of outside skepticism.
But here they were in April of two thousand and
two with a franchise record fifty two wins, heading into
(00:24):
the NBA Playoffs for the home court advantage guaranteed all
the way through dare we say it, the NBA Finals.
It was new territory for the franchise and many of
its players. Kid was the leader of the dramatic turnaround.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well, we were excited, but I think we were all
so scared a little bit. I wouldn't want to stay scared,
but nervous because this is the first time with the
number one seed. This is our first year together, and
you could say that the challenge or the pressure was
on us to be able to get out of the
first round.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
The Nets got all the way to the NBA Finals.
To do it, they had a survivor crucible in the
first round, a five game series against the Indiana Pacers
that went beyond the limits.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Welcome everyone to the two thousand and two NBA Playoffs
on ESPN. We kick off our playoff coverage today with
the Eastern Conference's top seed, New Jersey playing host of
the eight seeded Indiana Pacers. While the Nets have been
on top of the East for a couple of months now,
Pacers needed all eighty two games to reach the postseason.
Looking at Indiana's playoff history, they've been in the postseason
in twelve of the last thirteen years, and this is
(01:44):
their fifth in a row. They lost to the Lakers
in the NBA Finals in six games.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Two years ago.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
As for the Nets, this is New Territory. It's their
first ever Atlantic Division championship since joining the NBA way
back in seventy six. New Jersey's playoff history much different
than their opponents. This is their first playoff appearance in
four years, and the last time they won a playoff
series was against Philadelphia way back in the first round
of the playoffs in nineteen eighty four. Two young and
(02:10):
exciting teams will kick off the NBA Playoffs on ESPN.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
It's the Pacers and Nets.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Chris Carrino was in his first season as the Nets
radio play by play man, and he was heading into
the two thousand and two NBA Playoffs with the East
number one team.
Speaker 6 (02:27):
So the Nets were the one seed, had won fifty
two games, doubled their win total from the year before,
and still nobody was buying how.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
Good they were.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
They were saying, Wow, the East is down, Let's see
what they do when they get into the playoffs. So
you're eager to see this team and what they're going
to be able to do. And everybody who's been around
them has confidence in them, know how good they are.
But now here come the Indiana Pacers, who have all
this talent that had been banged up all year. And
the only reason of the eight seed is because they
(02:57):
had all these injuries all year.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
New Jersey's TV voice, Iron Eagle, had been around a
little bit longer. You'd already seen a couple of promising
Nets eras go off the rails. There was a little
bit of fatalism built into the job.
Speaker 7 (03:10):
I felt some uneasiness because everything that they had accomplished
that year was based on them advancing. If you finished
with the best record in franchise history, the number one
seed in the Eastern Conference, you do it in an
unexpected fashion. All of that can be wiped away with
a first round exit. You're just a footnote at that point.
(03:34):
So in order to validate what they did, they had
to win the series.
Speaker 8 (03:39):
Indiana was good.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
They were a really talented team, and I thought the
Pacers felt confident that they could win the series. And
you just didn't know how the Nets would perform under
the brightest of lights. Even with everything they accomplished that year,
they were still under the radar in many ways.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Indiana was a talented but transitional team the end of
its Reggie Miller era. There were two years removed from
playing in the NBA Finals and two years away from
winning sixty one games. Miller was still there, but twenty
three year rolls like forward Germaine O'Neill and point guard
Jamal Tinsley had ascended to the primary roles, and the
Pacers had picked up Ron Artest for Jalen Rose in
(04:21):
a mid season trade. Net center Tom McCullough had faced
the Pacers in the playoffs with Philadelphia the two years before.
The Sixers lost Indiana in the second round in two
thousand and beat them in the first round in two
thousand and one.
Speaker 9 (04:35):
I knew how dangerous the Indiana Pacers were when I
first got to the Sixers. They were the team that
knocked us out in my first year, and I saw
firsthand just how good Reggie was, the kind of defense
they played, and how diggerous they were. When we were
the Sixers. We were one, they were eight. And so
here they are again. We're the one, they're the eight.
And I kept thinking, this team is so good, why
do they keep ending up in the HBO? This is
(04:55):
not a team that I want to face in the
first round, and with it being only a best of
five series, I think it makes it that much more
difficult to put them away.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Here's assistant coach Michae o'corrn.
Speaker 10 (05:07):
I don't know what happened to him during the season,
but to us, they were not a number eight seed,
us being new and them being at eight not really
deserving an eight, maybe more of a three or four seed.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
So here we go and nets guard Curry Kittles.
Speaker 11 (05:22):
You're playing the basers, which oddly is Reggie Miller. And
we all know about Reggie Miller and what we all
knew about that, and Jermaine O'Neil round our chests at
the time. Those guys were a tough matchup for a
number one seed. Well, we knew we were the better team.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
And it all started six months earlier against the same
Indiana team, right in the same spot at the Meadowlands.
The first game is in it for Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson,
Jason Collins, and Todd McCullough, plus the return of Curry Kittles.
The Nets had blitzed the Pacers in the fourth quarter
for a comeback win that sparked a seven to ones
(06:00):
start to the season. They didn't have the same fast
start to the playoffs. The Pacers came into New Jersey
and went eighty nine to eighty three as Jermaine O'Neal
put up thirty points and eleven rebounds. Here's next, GM,
Rod Thorn.
Speaker 8 (06:14):
It wasn't like it was a real close game. They
sort of dominated us. And I remember being in the
locker room after that game, and I remember Kenyon Martin saying,
that's not gonna happen again when O'Neal dominates the game.
I guarantee you that Kenyan was a tough guy. And
I'm thinking, well, I hope you could back that up,
(06:36):
because O'Neil looked pretty good to beat it.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Brian Scalabrini watching, they just like controlled the pace. They
controlled the pace more than any other team that we
played in that run. It was just like every time
when we tried to do something, they just knew exactly
how they wanted to play, how they splitted it back.
They pounded the glass, but they got their guard back.
They didn't turn it over. They got good shot, they
(07:01):
got you in foul trouble, they used their physicality. So
all the things that people said that was gonna happen
was happening at that time. And I just thought, man,
is it impossible to turn people over in the playoffs?
Is it impossible to control pace in the playoffs? And
I don't I would be really curious to like go
back and watch the games with Kid and wonder what like,
(07:23):
have him give me a narrative of what he's thinking
when the game is going on, because I just felt
like our transition game come to a screeching halt, and
that's what we were great at. So I don't know.
If everyone said the game slows down in the playoffs,
well they were right about that series. I'm not sure
they were right about the rest of them. I thought
(07:44):
we found better opportunities to run later on, or better
opportunities to turn people over. I just felt like when
we played them it was like impossible to turn them
over and get like our offense really going.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Over the rest of the series, Martin held up his end.
In Game two, O'Neills shot three for eleven and scored
twelve points. He scored fifty six points total over the
final four games. The Nets one game two ninety five
to seventy nine to even the series, as Jason Kidd
came through with twenty points, ten rebounds and nine as sists.
Speaker 10 (08:18):
We ended up losing that first game.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
That really showed a lot of character for us to
understand what it took to win a playoffs game, but
to understand not the panic. That first game was incredible
because it made everybody a little nervous, but it also
put everybody on edge that we had to keep fighting
and that we worked as good as we thought we were.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Assistant coach Michael Koran.
Speaker 10 (08:41):
They beat us handily in the first game. It might
have been close score wise, but they took it right
to us. Not that that We were shocked, but wow, okay,
so we regrouped and we win that second game at home,
and now we go to Game three in Indiana.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
In an epic series with a spectacular finale. It's easy
for and that's one point win in Game three to
get lost in the background. But one shot in the
final minute at Indiana is Consekofield House saved the season.
Here's Rod Thorn.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
It was a really tough series, but it was a
series that we probably needed to have to win games
when you have to win them, because when you look
at it, almost every team that wins the championship or
goes far, there comes a time you have to win
a game on the road. You have to win a
(09:32):
game on the road. Almost every year you lose it
all somewhere along the line. You got to win a
game on the road, and the real good teams do that.
We were really fortunate, but we did.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
We won it. And that's held the lead from the
opening minutes until the Pacers caught them in the middle
of the third quarter. Over the final twenty minutes, there
were six highs and fourteen lead changes. The last lead
change came on a Curry tittles three pointer with twenty
two zo point five seconds remaining, Chances.
Speaker 10 (10:03):
Are they're not gonna let Jason get the shot. They're
gonna switch on him and Van Horner Kittles.
Speaker 12 (10:07):
For somebody who's gonna have to make come up big
right here?
Speaker 10 (10:10):
Can you be?
Speaker 12 (10:11):
A kid?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Can read missing?
Speaker 12 (10:13):
And it's kid the rot two kid food shot.
Speaker 8 (10:18):
Harmy Kittles is only two.
Speaker 12 (10:20):
Of eleven ten.
Speaker 11 (10:21):
I'll spe a three pillar.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Shot on Indiana.
Speaker 10 (10:25):
Hat's fall behind by two.
Speaker 8 (10:26):
The next eighty five the pacers eighty three.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
That is carry Kittles first fields since the first quarter.
Speaker 8 (10:35):
Oh, that's a huge shot.
Speaker 12 (10:36):
Harry Kittles feels great right now and that's the biggest
shot of his life.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Here's the assistant coach, Micha o'corran.
Speaker 10 (10:43):
Van Horn misses a shot and Jason Kidd tracks down
the miss I thought he was gonna put it up.
He fines Kerry Kittles right front of our bench and
Kittle sits at three.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And that center.
Speaker 9 (10:56):
Tom McCullough, he was a clutch player and he's just
a cool cat, and so it doesn't surprise me at
all that he was able to step up and hit
a big shot like that. He's got the mechanics, he's
got the big game temperament, so no surprise that he
hit that.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Kittles three pointer put the Nets up eighty five to
eighty three. Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal made one of two free
throws with three point six seconds left to make it
a one point game, and finally the Pacers Reggie Miller
missed the jumper at the buzzer. The Nets held on
to an eighty five eighty four win and a two
to one lead in the series. Here's Curry Kittles.
Speaker 11 (11:30):
I just remember having a rough night. I think I
was one for ten, proud of making that shot, but
I was confident. We had tom out came or whatever,
and I was in the game and I was like,
I'm gonna make the next one. I get a shot,
The next one was gonna go in. JA kid was like,
I got you.
Speaker 10 (11:44):
I got you.
Speaker 13 (11:45):
Sure enough, he found me on that left wing and
zipped the pass over it to me. That was a
big moment for me in my career. I remember after
that game, sitting in the locker room and just thinking
about my journey, what I had gone through the last
year with the injury and missing the season and spending
no time really around basketball. When I was in California,
I did not play basketball at all. I didn't touch
(12:06):
a basketball. So to then be on a playoff team,
number one seed the following your fifty some wins season
and now in the postseason and playing against Regie Miller,
and to make that shot after having a rough night,
it really proved to me that I'm a resilient player,
resilient person.
Speaker 11 (12:23):
I'll never forget that all had my basketball courer.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Curry was an amazing player with incredible speed, and he
became a big time threat shooting from the outside. He
could really fill it up, and it was a great
compliment to Jason Kidd. I don't remember him taking bad
shots because he was a guy who always made good decisions.
The NET said drafted Kills eighth overall out of Villanova
in nineteen ninety six. As a rookie, he set a
(12:49):
franchise record with one hundred and fifty eight three pointers.
He's still third in NETS franchise history and career three
pointers made. The next year, Kills shot forty two percent
from three point range and averaged a career high seventeen
points for a NETS team. That made it back to
the playoffs and looked like it was on the rise,
but things fell apart quickly in the nineteen ninety nine
(13:11):
lockout season, and after knee surgery in two thousand, Kittles
was out of the game for a year. He spent
the year in California working on his rehab and wondering
if in any basketball future at all. Here's Todd McCullough.
Speaker 9 (13:24):
Carrie was just a cool cat, you know, one of
my best friends on the team, and just always such
a positive attitude. And I think through some of the
trials that he had, you know, physically with his knee
in the previous year, I think he was, you know,
really just enjoying being back on the court and being
able to trust his knee and to be able to
use all the talents and skills that he had at
(13:44):
one point, really enjoying the ride, and in the second
one not taking for granted. You know how quickly things
can change and how much an injury can affect your career,
and so I think he was enjoying every minute and
really just excelling how even keeled he was, and how
positive he was, and what a good team that he was.
It was just it was really fun to share that
year with him.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Kittle's got back on the court in the summer of
two thousand and one with the net Summer League team
in Boston. It's typically a time for rookies, but after
being out for a year, Kittles wanted the reps and
he teamed up with the team's deep draft class, Richard Jefferson,
Brandon Armstrong, Brian Scalabrini, and Jason Collins.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Kerry Kittles is a great He's the dude everyone wants
to play with Kerry Kittle because he is a great
teammate and he will on both ends of the court. Defensively,
he'll stick his nose in there for a guard and
then he'll get steals and deflections. He'll take charges, he
can even I'm from get a block shot. And then
(14:43):
also offensively, there are very few people who can run
the floor like Carry Kittles, and he was like a
perfect complimentary piece to Jason Kidd.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
After missing the entire season, Kittles started all eighty two
games for the Nets in two thousand and one and two.
He averaged thirteen points, shot a career high forty six
point six percent, and made forty percent of his three
pointers and on a team that wanted to defend and run,
Kittles was a perfect piece. He and Kid looked like
(15:14):
they've been playing together forever. Here's Chris Carino.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Carry Kittles was a humble player who also perfectly fit
into that system. Terrific three point shooter. He was born
to run the fast break. Today's game people loved to
spot up on the wings in a fast break and
shoot threes. Back then it was not as common, but
the nets with this great fast break team and Kerry
(15:39):
would drift to the wing and Jason would find him
just so eloquent when he ran the break. I don't
know if that's the right word to use, eloquent for
a guy to run, but graceful. Carry Kittles was graceful
and had a great demeanor for that team. Just a
low key guy, never got too high and low, and
it always seemed like the moment was never too big
(15:59):
for Kerry Kittles and Iron Eagle.
Speaker 7 (16:02):
Carry Kittles a gazelle. He just was the perfect two
guard to play with Jason Kidd, and he was so
explosive on the break. That's the vision I have when
I think back of Carrie. I just think of his
all out sprints, his ability to find angles and to
(16:24):
get out quickly, and it probably is a disservice to
what he was as an all around player, because he
was a terrific all around player, had a great looking
jump shot, was highly active defensively. But it's hard to
wipe away that memory of him trotting out and getting
to the outside and beginning to angle in and knowing
(16:49):
that the ball was going to find him. From kid,
they just had a sixth sense between them.
Speaker 5 (16:54):
Brian Scalabrini, me and Carrie became really close. We'd go
out to dinner together and everything like that. He was
explaining to me the journey and his injury and he
thought about retiring and maybe you wasn't gonna play him
anymore because his knee was so bad. And you know,
it's not like nowadays where guys take two years off
and they people think it'll be fine. Like back then,
you took time off, people didn't think you were going
(17:15):
to come back. And so I understood all the backstories
with Kerry Kittles because I got to know him throughout
the year, and that was a huge I mean, just
a huge moment for him, and obviously it was a
huge shot for US.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
After Kittle's big shot, the Nets were a game away
from winning their first playoff series since nineteen eighty four
and moving on with three off days between games three
and four. They actually went home to New Jersey in
between games, but Game four in Indiana was at the
backle The Net shot less than forty percent, turned it
over nineteen times, and scored just seventy four points. They
(17:49):
lost by twenty three. This was the last season before
the NBA extended the first round to a seven game series,
so they headed back to New Jersey for Game five
with the season the balance. Here's Chris Carino.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
And to this day, that is still one of the
greatest environments I ever remember. In two decades of doing
Nets games on the radio, that was still one of
the great environments I ever remember, and still probably the
most memorable game for me to broadcast my career and his.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Old radio partner turned assistant coach, Mike o'corn.
Speaker 10 (18:23):
It was one of the more gun renting build ups
to that day. It just lasted forever before the game
for all of us.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
It was suffocating. There was an early eight point lead,
for the Nets. It didn't last. By halftime, they were tied,
and they stayed dead even after that. Tied at the
end of the third quarter, tied at the end of regulation,
tied at the end of the first overtime. From halftime
on there were thirteen ties and sixteen lead changes. They
(18:52):
traded the lead eleven times in the third quarter alone,
But with five and a half minutes ago in the
fourth quarter, the Nets were up ninety to eighty one
after a ten nothing run.
Speaker 12 (19:03):
Have you mark pick shot? He's got twenty two oh
I shot from ted for five and a half to
play on the board, twd tough shot, Holly may have
got a piece of it bad one pass and tub
right pack for the five under four to play. Seven
point New Jersey leaves col O'Neil powers head top shot
and it's a one point game. A ten to two
(19:25):
run right now for the Indiana Pacers. Over the last
four minutes, what was a nine point leader's.
Speaker 10 (19:32):
Been cut to one?
Speaker 12 (19:35):
Can't the jumper puts it in taste a tad another
big bucket.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
The Pacers push back the kids jumper and the Nets
up ninety four to ninety one with a minute to go.
Miller's two free throws cut into one kids pair push
the lead back to three ninety six ninety three. The
net's gotta stop with Indiana's Kevin Ollie missed at the rim.
Richard Jefferson Graham the rema Ali found them at RJ
(20:02):
headed to the line with five point one seconds left
and missed both. Chaos followed. Indiana's Austin Kroschier grabbed the rebound.
The Pacers pushed the ball up the floor. It was
pure desperation. And then play back and the game is time.
(20:23):
We're going over time.
Speaker 8 (20:26):
Here's Rod Thorn, Richard goest the line, missus too. They rebound,
come down the court. Miller fires one from between the
top of the key and the center court makes it.
Knocked it in. Now did he get it off in time?
And those days you couldn't go over and take a look.
There was no it's to replay for the referees, and
(20:51):
so referee counted it. Even if it was late, which
it was, you you had no recourse. I remember when
Miller made the shot, and again my feeling was it
was late. But I'm getting ready to walk out of
the box that I set in to watch the games.
(21:13):
And when he made that shot, I fell to my knees.
It was that kind of shot, and you know Ressie
Beller was known for doing that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It was another dramatic moment for Miller in a career
full of them. It was also, if you ask anybody
around the nuts about it, a shot that shouldn't have counted.
Speaker 12 (21:32):
Now the officials are concurring, Bob. The lady singled yes,
Joe Crawford now saying with the other official checking it,
and they say, yes, it beat the buzzer. Let's take
a listen, and then again a key listen for the buzzer.
Speaker 8 (21:46):
The ball is in his hand, the red light to me,
the red light is on behind.
Speaker 12 (21:50):
The backboard, which means right there the game should be overview.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
That was way after the buzzer. That wasn't fingertips like
Reggie was loaded when that went off. And then I
just remember Kid going to a completely different level and
overtime it was almost like enough of this stuff already,
like enough of this, We're not gonna win, and the
game slows down or you can't win unless you play
in the half court. And what we all now know,
(22:18):
it's great players make great plays in the playoffs. Great
players have moments in the playoff that's just the way
that it goes. And I remember Kid and the moment
where it was uncharacteristic for him to score and dominate games.
I remember him just completely saying, all right, enough already,
even though you know in the Pacers were well accomplished
enough already with this stuff, you guys aren't on my level.
(22:41):
I'm going to a new level and there's no way
anybody can touch me here. And there were moments when
he did that, his domination down the stretch of scoring, passing, rebounding,
pushing the ball late where everyone else walks it up,
that's what really stood out to me.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
In that game, they traded baskets for the first few
minutes of overtime, be for one of those razors edge
plays that changes everything. The Pacers were up one hundred
to ninety eight with two minutes to go when Indiana's
Ron Mercer drove the baseline, Kid stepped in front and
drew contact. Mercer scored. The whistle blew. Here's Rod Thorn.
Speaker 8 (23:18):
There's a collision near the hoop, and referee called it
a charge.
Speaker 10 (23:24):
Is it a charge or a block?
Speaker 8 (23:27):
He called it a charge, so we get the ball,
go down score, they missed, We score, and we ended
up winning the game. But if that call, I still
can see that play could have gone either way. If
they get that call, chances are they win the game.
Speaker 10 (23:43):
And michael'corrn ron Mercer drives baseline with them up too,
with Indiana up two, and kid comes over and it's
one of those calls. He could go your way if
you can go against you, and they called an offensive
foul on Mercer. Now the ball went in. If that
one in, he goes and they go off five with
under two minutes, it could have been a problem for us.
(24:04):
They called it offensive foul. Martin scores to tie it up.
It was literally right in front of al bench that baseline.
I don't know who made the call, but it could
have been a bock. But because Jason was such a
fierce defender and All First Team All defender that then
you got the benefit. I do it, and that happens
with superstars.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
But Miller still wasn't done with them. With the Nets
up by two in the final seconds of the first overtime,
Reggie busted down the lane for a two handed dunk
that tied the game again. With three seconds left.
Speaker 12 (24:37):
Miller gets past Kettles Miller.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Inside with the five pretree.
Speaker 8 (24:43):
Miller ties up with.
Speaker 10 (24:44):
Three point wasn't remaining.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
That was the last of his thirty one points. Here's
Curry Kettle's.
Speaker 10 (24:51):
He's laid Darby's.
Speaker 11 (24:52):
I mean, yes, he's still good.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
What that game?
Speaker 10 (24:55):
It was like, who is this guy?
Speaker 11 (24:57):
I mean I was all over him and every shot
he took this seat, but he was not gonna miss.
Speaker 8 (25:02):
I remember when he drove past me down the lane
and Duncan our entire.
Speaker 11 (25:06):
Team, and I'm like, he's thirty eight, thirty nine years old?
What's going on here? Reggie Miller?
Speaker 14 (25:12):
And that Game five stands out in my career because
it's you don't have many moments playing against iconic players.
Everything's on the line now, right, It's game five, Winneba
Hall postseason, you know, it's money time, and there you
have it. He's putting up a performance. It's probably one
of his best player of performances in the loss for sure,
(25:33):
in the loss and.
Speaker 8 (25:34):
Iron Eagle Reggie Miller.
Speaker 7 (25:36):
The heave at the end of regulation, incredible, absolutely incredible.
Reggie Miller first overtime, A big dunk to keep the
facers in it. That's what all of famers do. But
in that second overtime, you could feel it. You could
feel the separation, and you could feel chasing Kidd willing
this team to the finish line, and he just was
(25:59):
knocked going to let them lose. It wasn't gonna happen.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
And you asked the question earlier, why was he brought here?
Speaker 10 (26:06):
This is why he was brought here.
Speaker 12 (26:07):
This fourth quarter is his time. He has the last
seven New Jersey points, eleven of his twenty two here
in this fourth quarter, two clutch free throws from Jason
Kirk need answers right back, Kid with the hand. What
a player from Jason Kirk ally trying to go for
the steal.
Speaker 8 (26:27):
Kiddnocks a dime and.
Speaker 12 (26:29):
It gives him a five point lead in the second overtime.
Kidd has played the entire second half in overtimes. Kid
has to put it up, Bye, puts it head Dolly
right this face and the nets back up by five.
Jason kidt a spectacular performance.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Kids scored twelve points in the fourth corner to keep
the season alive and ended up one of those absolutely
crazy stat lines. Thirty one points, eight rebounds, seven assists,
and four steals in fifty two minutes.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Probably wasn't my best shooting game, but I wasn't afraid
of the moment of taking big shots or fighting the
open guy, and so it was fun because also when
we look at the players in the league who watch championships,
they've always delivered in those situations, and so to do
it our first year in New Jersey was something that
I'll never forget.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Kid had spent the entire season lifting the nets to
New Heights and ended up finishing second in the MVP voting.
His will to win had changed the mentality of the
entire franchise. Here's Todd McCullough.
Speaker 9 (27:35):
I think he just wouldn't let us lose, and I
think he just has the ability to do whatever it
takes to win. He just willed us to victory, and
I think he really wanted to go on to the
next round. And I think players of that stature that
have the ball in their hands and they you know,
they believe in themselves and they believe in us, they
can take control of the game.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
I think he did that.
Speaker 9 (27:56):
He felt like it was his time, that the Reggie
had has his time, and it was Kid Ten.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Ain't Curry Kittles.
Speaker 13 (28:02):
Jake Kidd was a different breed. There was a mini
guy in the league like Jay Kidd. I mean, you
could caught him on one hand, the guys who were
mentally tough and who really thrived under pressure.
Speaker 11 (28:14):
He always seemed composed, never rushed. There was games where
he'd have eight nine turnovers and it was just like
he get the ball again. He wouldn't slow down, he
wouldn't hesitate at all, and he wasn't known to be
a scorer. And there you have it, thirty one points
in a big game. There's a reason why it was
Jason Kidd, a Hall of Famer. Was the reason why
(28:35):
he was in the conversation for MVP that year.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
It wasn't a solo act. Keith Van Horne at twenty
seven points and made five to three pointers out of
eight attempts. There was also Kenyan Martin, who had made
a promise to Rod Thorn after Game one. Just like Kidd,
Martin played every minute of Game five after halftime. He
played fifty six or fifty eight minutes in the double
overtime game and scored twenty nine points, eight rebounds, four
(29:02):
resists and two steals. Here's Curry Kittles a coming.
Speaker 13 (29:07):
Out party for Ginian as well in the postseason, but
this is his first playoff experience and he's going up
against a tough opponent in Jermaine O'Neil, and they're going
at it and it's really competitive in the paint. Because
you know, that's what Kenyan operated, and so he found
a way. I think as a player he wasn't necessarily
super skilled, but Kenyan found a way of affecting the game,
(29:28):
impacting the game using his quickness, slashing, getting to the
free throw line.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
And Jason Kidd, when.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You talk about k Mark our emotional leader, he's our
hard he delivered because when you talk about Indiana again,
a team that I really considered not an age seed
in that year of the playoffs, being able to score,
to get out on the break, and then also his
post up to his little jump hook or his little floater,
and then again he wasn't scared a lot of times
(29:58):
in these situations you conduck and hide. And so I
was very happy see kmar responding rang the bell for
us that day and helped us win that game.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Jason Collins in.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
The playoffs, your superstars need to be superstars, and then
the bench guys need to do your job, and as
Shaq would say, the others need to do your job
kind of thing. So we were very fortunate that our
superstars were superstars. Our superstars were definitely Jason Kidd and
Kenyan Martin, but the others being Kerrie Kittles, Keith Van Horn,
(30:30):
Richard Jefferson, Aaron Wayms, Todd McCullough. He had great hands
and ability to finish. It was really a team effort,
Lucius Harris, Sweet Lou coming in. You know, we had shooters,
so we had a lot of guys who stepped up
and supported our two main horses in j Kidd and Kaymer.
Here's a battle we just had to fight. There's no
(30:51):
easy way to say it other than just especially in
the NBA back in the day when that's two thousand
and two playoffs, very physical. So it's a battle and
we were very fortunate come out on top in that
playoff series.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
It was a first round series that felt like the
finals for all the way that carried it meant these
were not the same old Nets. They were not a
fluke number one seed. They had faced a playoff tested
team and survived in the most pressure filled circumstances. They
were moving on another step on the road that would
take them to the NBA Finals. Here's Ion Eagle.
Speaker 7 (31:30):
Ultimately, it was the biggest win in franchise history and
you could feel it courtside at the Midlands. I was
doing the game next to Bill Raftrie, who had been
associated with the team for so long, and the emotions
attached to it watching it.
Speaker 8 (31:46):
Not just through my eyes at that point.
Speaker 7 (31:49):
I had done eight years at play by play with
a net, so a long enough stretch to certainly feel
all of the emotions that you feel.
Speaker 8 (32:00):
But Bill had been there a long.
Speaker 7 (32:02):
Time, and to watch it through his lens as well
for me on a personal level added something special to
the whole night. It was cathartic in many ways. Anyone
that was a fan of the nets or covered the
nets certainly worked for the Nets. It was this release
(32:23):
because the team had finally arrived and it was just
the second round, but it meant so much.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
And Chris Carino that to me was the most important.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
That Game five against the Pacers was the most important
game of me in franchise history in the last twenty years,
because no one was buying us as a number one seed,
and you're going up against the great Pacer team and
they don't go to the finals if they lose, and
maybe they take a step back and don't play as
well the next year, maybe they break up the team
if they don't win that yeraries against Indiana, and think
(32:53):
about just getting the one seed and then getting to
the finals. What he did for the perception of the franchise.
They'd always been kind of lumped in with the Clippers
all those years, kind of the second fiddle in town,
never really won anything, never made any noise, and then
all of a sudden, they go to the finals, and
now it's like the Nets have been of the finals.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
The Nets were four.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
Wins away from an NBA championship. That just put them
in another level. It changed the way you thought of
the entire franchise. And it was all on the line
in that Game five against Indiana.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Next week, the Nets take on legendary franchises, coming back
to beat the Celtics in the conference finals, ever reaching
their first NBA Finals against the Lakers,
There wasn't a day in two thousand and two that
the New Jersey Nets were not in first place in
the Eastern Conference. They had trashed the expectations. Jason Kidd
brought playmaking genius and a new ambition from Phoenix, but
his preseason goals have been met with waves of outside skepticism.
But here they were in April of two thousand and
two with a franchise record fifty two wins, heading into
(00:24):
the NBA Playoffs for the home court advantage guaranteed all
the way through dare we say it, the NBA Finals.
It was new territory for the franchise and many of
its players. Kid was the leader of the dramatic turnaround.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well, we were excited, but I think we were all
so scared a little bit. I wouldn't want to stay scared,
but nervous because this is the first time with the
number one seed. This is our first year together, and
you could say that the challenge or the pressure was
on us to be able to get out of the
first round.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
The Nets got all the way to the NBA Finals.
To do it, they had a survivor crucible in the
first round, a five game series against the Indiana Pacers
that went beyond the limits.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Welcome everyone to the two thousand and two NBA Playoffs
on ESPN. We kick off our playoff coverage today with
the Eastern Conference's top seed, New Jersey playing host of
the eight seeded Indiana Pacers. While the Nets have been
on top of the East for a couple of months now,
Pacers needed all eighty two games to reach the postseason.
Looking at Indiana's playoff history, they've been in the postseason
in twelve of the last thirteen years, and this is
(01:44):
their fifth in a row. They lost to the Lakers
in the NBA Finals in six games.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Two years ago.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
As for the Nets, this is New Territory. It's their
first ever Atlantic Division championship since joining the NBA way
back in seventy six. New Jersey's playoff history much different
than their opponents. This is their first playoff appearance in
four years, and the last time they won a playoff
series was against Philadelphia way back in the first round
of the playoffs in nineteen eighty four. Two young and
(02:10):
exciting teams will kick off the NBA Playoffs on ESPN.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
It's the Pacers and Nets.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Chris Carrino was in his first season as the Nets
radio play by play man, and he was heading into
the two thousand and two NBA Playoffs with the East
number one team.
Speaker 6 (02:27):
So the Nets were the one seed, had won fifty
two games, doubled their win total from the year before,
and still nobody was buying how.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
Good they were.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
They were saying, Wow, the East is down, Let's see
what they do when they get into the playoffs. So
you're eager to see this team and what they're going
to be able to do. And everybody who's been around
them has confidence in them, know how good they are.
But now here come the Indiana Pacers, who have all
this talent that had been banged up all year. And
the only reason of the eight seed is because they
(02:57):
had all these injuries all year.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
New Jersey's TV voice, Iron Eagle, had been around a
little bit longer. You'd already seen a couple of promising
Nets eras go off the rails. There was a little
bit of fatalism built into the job.
Speaker 7 (03:10):
I felt some uneasiness because everything that they had accomplished
that year was based on them advancing. If you finished
with the best record in franchise history, the number one
seed in the Eastern Conference, you do it in an
unexpected fashion. All of that can be wiped away with
a first round exit. You're just a footnote at that point.
(03:34):
So in order to validate what they did, they had
to win the series.
Speaker 8 (03:39):
Indiana was good.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
They were a really talented team, and I thought the
Pacers felt confident that they could win the series. And
you just didn't know how the Nets would perform under
the brightest of lights. Even with everything they accomplished that year,
they were still under the radar in many ways.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Indiana was a talented but transitional team the end of
its Reggie Miller era. There were two years removed from
playing in the NBA Finals and two years away from
winning sixty one games. Miller was still there, but twenty
three year rolls like forward Germaine O'Neill and point guard
Jamal Tinsley had ascended to the primary roles, and the
Pacers had picked up Ron Artest for Jalen Rose in
(04:21):
a mid season trade. Net center Tom McCullough had faced
the Pacers in the playoffs with Philadelphia the two years before.
The Sixers lost Indiana in the second round in two
thousand and beat them in the first round in two
thousand and one.
Speaker 9 (04:35):
I knew how dangerous the Indiana Pacers were when I
first got to the Sixers. They were the team that
knocked us out in my first year, and I saw
firsthand just how good Reggie was, the kind of defense
they played, and how diggerous they were. When we were
the Sixers. We were one, they were eight. And so
here they are again. We're the one, they're the eight.
And I kept thinking, this team is so good, why
do they keep ending up in the HBO? This is
(04:55):
not a team that I want to face in the
first round, and with it being only a best of
five series, I think it makes it that much more
difficult to put them away.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Here's assistant coach Michae o'corrn.
Speaker 10 (05:07):
I don't know what happened to him during the season,
but to us, they were not a number eight seed,
us being new and them being at eight not really
deserving an eight, maybe more of a three or four seed.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
So here we go and nets guard Curry Kittles.
Speaker 11 (05:22):
You're playing the basers, which oddly is Reggie Miller. And
we all know about Reggie Miller and what we all
knew about that, and Jermaine O'Neil round our chests at
the time. Those guys were a tough matchup for a
number one seed. Well, we knew we were the better team.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
And it all started six months earlier against the same
Indiana team, right in the same spot at the Meadowlands.
The first game is in it for Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson,
Jason Collins, and Todd McCullough, plus the return of Curry Kittles.
The Nets had blitzed the Pacers in the fourth quarter
for a comeback win that sparked a seven to ones
(06:00):
start to the season. They didn't have the same fast
start to the playoffs. The Pacers came into New Jersey
and went eighty nine to eighty three as Jermaine O'Neal
put up thirty points and eleven rebounds. Here's next, GM,
Rod Thorn.
Speaker 8 (06:14):
It wasn't like it was a real close game. They
sort of dominated us. And I remember being in the
locker room after that game, and I remember Kenyon Martin saying,
that's not gonna happen again when O'Neal dominates the game.
I guarantee you that Kenyan was a tough guy. And
I'm thinking, well, I hope you could back that up,
(06:36):
because O'Neil looked pretty good to beat it.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Brian Scalabrini watching, they just like controlled the pace. They
controlled the pace more than any other team that we
played in that run. It was just like every time
when we tried to do something, they just knew exactly
how they wanted to play, how they splitted it back.
They pounded the glass, but they got their guard back.
They didn't turn it over. They got good shot, they
(07:01):
got you in foul trouble, they used their physicality. So
all the things that people said that was gonna happen
was happening at that time. And I just thought, man,
is it impossible to turn people over in the playoffs?
Is it impossible to control pace in the playoffs? And
I don't I would be really curious to like go
back and watch the games with Kid and wonder what like,
(07:23):
have him give me a narrative of what he's thinking
when the game is going on, because I just felt
like our transition game come to a screeching halt, and
that's what we were great at. So I don't know.
If everyone said the game slows down in the playoffs,
well they were right about that series. I'm not sure
they were right about the rest of them. I thought
(07:44):
we found better opportunities to run later on, or better
opportunities to turn people over. I just felt like when
we played them it was like impossible to turn them
over and get like our offense really going.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Over the rest of the series, Martin held up his end.
In Game two, O'Neills shot three for eleven and scored
twelve points. He scored fifty six points total over the
final four games. The Nets one game two ninety five
to seventy nine to even the series, as Jason Kidd
came through with twenty points, ten rebounds and nine as sists.
Speaker 10 (08:18):
We ended up losing that first game.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
That really showed a lot of character for us to
understand what it took to win a playoffs game, but
to understand not the panic. That first game was incredible
because it made everybody a little nervous, but it also
put everybody on edge that we had to keep fighting
and that we worked as good as we thought we were.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Assistant coach Michael Koran.
Speaker 10 (08:41):
They beat us handily in the first game. It might
have been close score wise, but they took it right
to us. Not that that We were shocked, but wow, okay,
so we regrouped and we win that second game at home,
and now we go to Game three in Indiana.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
In an epic series with a spectacular finale. It's easy
for and that's one point win in Game three to
get lost in the background. But one shot in the
final minute at Indiana is Consekofield House saved the season.
Here's Rod Thorn.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
It was a really tough series, but it was a
series that we probably needed to have to win games
when you have to win them, because when you look
at it, almost every team that wins the championship or
goes far, there comes a time you have to win
a game on the road. You have to win a
(09:32):
game on the road. Almost every year you lose it
all somewhere along the line. You got to win a
game on the road, and the real good teams do that.
We were really fortunate, but we did.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
We won it. And that's held the lead from the
opening minutes until the Pacers caught them in the middle
of the third quarter. Over the final twenty minutes, there
were six highs and fourteen lead changes. The last lead
change came on a Curry tittles three pointer with twenty
two zo point five seconds remaining, Chances.
Speaker 10 (10:03):
Are they're not gonna let Jason get the shot. They're
gonna switch on him and Van Horner Kittles.
Speaker 12 (10:07):
For somebody who's gonna have to make come up big
right here?
Speaker 10 (10:10):
Can you be?
Speaker 12 (10:11):
A kid?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Can read missing?
Speaker 12 (10:13):
And it's kid the rot two kid food shot.
Speaker 8 (10:18):
Harmy Kittles is only two.
Speaker 12 (10:20):
Of eleven ten.
Speaker 11 (10:21):
I'll spe a three pillar.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Shot on Indiana.
Speaker 10 (10:25):
Hat's fall behind by two.
Speaker 8 (10:26):
The next eighty five the pacers eighty three.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
That is carry Kittles first fields since the first quarter.
Speaker 8 (10:35):
Oh, that's a huge shot.
Speaker 12 (10:36):
Harry Kittles feels great right now and that's the biggest
shot of his life.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Here's the assistant coach, Micha o'corran.
Speaker 10 (10:43):
Van Horn misses a shot and Jason Kidd tracks down
the miss I thought he was gonna put it up.
He fines Kerry Kittles right front of our bench and
Kittle sits at three.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And that center.
Speaker 9 (10:56):
Tom McCullough, he was a clutch player and he's just
a cool cat, and so it doesn't surprise me at
all that he was able to step up and hit
a big shot like that. He's got the mechanics, he's
got the big game temperament, so no surprise that he
hit that.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Kittles three pointer put the Nets up eighty five to
eighty three. Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal made one of two free
throws with three point six seconds left to make it
a one point game, and finally the Pacers Reggie Miller
missed the jumper at the buzzer. The Nets held on
to an eighty five eighty four win and a two
to one lead in the series. Here's Curry Kittles.
Speaker 11 (11:30):
I just remember having a rough night. I think I
was one for ten, proud of making that shot, but
I was confident. We had tom out came or whatever,
and I was in the game and I was like,
I'm gonna make the next one. I get a shot,
The next one was gonna go in. JA kid was like,
I got you.
Speaker 10 (11:44):
I got you.
Speaker 13 (11:45):
Sure enough, he found me on that left wing and
zipped the pass over it to me. That was a
big moment for me in my career. I remember after
that game, sitting in the locker room and just thinking
about my journey, what I had gone through the last
year with the injury and missing the season and spending
no time really around basketball. When I was in California,
I did not play basketball at all. I didn't touch
(12:06):
a basketball. So to then be on a playoff team,
number one seed the following your fifty some wins season
and now in the postseason and playing against Regie Miller,
and to make that shot after having a rough night,
it really proved to me that I'm a resilient player,
resilient person.
Speaker 11 (12:23):
I'll never forget that all had my basketball courer.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Curry was an amazing player with incredible speed, and he
became a big time threat shooting from the outside. He
could really fill it up, and it was a great
compliment to Jason Kidd. I don't remember him taking bad
shots because he was a guy who always made good decisions.
The NET said drafted Kills eighth overall out of Villanova
in nineteen ninety six. As a rookie, he set a
(12:49):
franchise record with one hundred and fifty eight three pointers.
He's still third in NETS franchise history and career three
pointers made. The next year, Kills shot forty two percent
from three point range and averaged a career high seventeen
points for a NETS team. That made it back to
the playoffs and looked like it was on the rise,
but things fell apart quickly in the nineteen ninety nine
(13:11):
lockout season, and after knee surgery in two thousand, Kittles
was out of the game for a year. He spent
the year in California working on his rehab and wondering
if in any basketball future at all. Here's Todd McCullough.
Speaker 9 (13:24):
Carrie was just a cool cat, you know, one of
my best friends on the team, and just always such
a positive attitude. And I think through some of the
trials that he had, you know, physically with his knee
in the previous year, I think he was, you know,
really just enjoying being back on the court and being
able to trust his knee and to be able to
use all the talents and skills that he had at
(13:44):
one point, really enjoying the ride, and in the second
one not taking for granted. You know how quickly things
can change and how much an injury can affect your career,
and so I think he was enjoying every minute and
really just excelling how even keeled he was, and how
positive he was, and what a good team that he was.
It was just it was really fun to share that
year with him.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Kittle's got back on the court in the summer of
two thousand and one with the net Summer League team
in Boston. It's typically a time for rookies, but after
being out for a year, Kittles wanted the reps and
he teamed up with the team's deep draft class, Richard Jefferson,
Brandon Armstrong, Brian Scalabrini, and Jason Collins.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Kerry Kittles is a great He's the dude everyone wants
to play with Kerry Kittle because he is a great
teammate and he will on both ends of the court. Defensively,
he'll stick his nose in there for a guard and
then he'll get steals and deflections. He'll take charges, he
can even I'm from get a block shot. And then
(14:43):
also offensively, there are very few people who can run
the floor like Carry Kittles, and he was like a
perfect complimentary piece to Jason Kidd.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
After missing the entire season, Kittles started all eighty two
games for the Nets in two thousand and one and two.
He averaged thirteen points, shot a career high forty six
point six percent, and made forty percent of his three
pointers and on a team that wanted to defend and run,
Kittles was a perfect piece. He and Kid looked like
(15:14):
they've been playing together forever. Here's Chris Carino.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Carry Kittles was a humble player who also perfectly fit
into that system. Terrific three point shooter. He was born
to run the fast break. Today's game people loved to
spot up on the wings in a fast break and
shoot threes. Back then it was not as common, but
the nets with this great fast break team and Kerry
(15:39):
would drift to the wing and Jason would find him
just so eloquent when he ran the break. I don't
know if that's the right word to use, eloquent for
a guy to run, but graceful. Carry Kittles was graceful
and had a great demeanor for that team. Just a
low key guy, never got too high and low, and
it always seemed like the moment was never too big
(15:59):
for Kerry Kittles and Iron Eagle.
Speaker 7 (16:02):
Carry Kittles a gazelle. He just was the perfect two
guard to play with Jason Kidd, and he was so
explosive on the break. That's the vision I have when
I think back of Carrie. I just think of his
all out sprints, his ability to find angles and to
(16:24):
get out quickly, and it probably is a disservice to
what he was as an all around player, because he
was a terrific all around player, had a great looking
jump shot, was highly active defensively. But it's hard to
wipe away that memory of him trotting out and getting
to the outside and beginning to angle in and knowing
(16:49):
that the ball was going to find him. From kid,
they just had a sixth sense between them.
Speaker 5 (16:54):
Brian Scalabrini, me and Carrie became really close. We'd go
out to dinner together and everything like that. He was
explaining to me the journey and his injury and he
thought about retiring and maybe you wasn't gonna play him
anymore because his knee was so bad. And you know,
it's not like nowadays where guys take two years off
and they people think it'll be fine. Like back then,
you took time off, people didn't think you were going
(17:15):
to come back. And so I understood all the backstories
with Kerry Kittles because I got to know him throughout
the year, and that was a huge I mean, just
a huge moment for him, and obviously it was a
huge shot for US.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
After Kittle's big shot, the Nets were a game away
from winning their first playoff series since nineteen eighty four
and moving on with three off days between games three
and four. They actually went home to New Jersey in
between games, but Game four in Indiana was at the
backle The Net shot less than forty percent, turned it
over nineteen times, and scored just seventy four points. They
(17:49):
lost by twenty three. This was the last season before
the NBA extended the first round to a seven game series,
so they headed back to New Jersey for Game five
with the season the balance. Here's Chris Carino.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
And to this day, that is still one of the
greatest environments I ever remember. In two decades of doing
Nets games on the radio, that was still one of
the great environments I ever remember, and still probably the
most memorable game for me to broadcast my career and his.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Old radio partner turned assistant coach, Mike o'corn.
Speaker 10 (18:23):
It was one of the more gun renting build ups
to that day. It just lasted forever before the game
for all of us.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
It was suffocating. There was an early eight point lead,
for the Nets. It didn't last. By halftime, they were tied,
and they stayed dead even after that. Tied at the
end of the third quarter, tied at the end of regulation,
tied at the end of the first overtime. From halftime
on there were thirteen ties and sixteen lead changes. They
(18:52):
traded the lead eleven times in the third quarter alone,
But with five and a half minutes ago in the
fourth quarter, the Nets were up ninety to eighty one
after a ten nothing run.
Speaker 12 (19:03):
Have you mark pick shot? He's got twenty two oh
I shot from ted for five and a half to
play on the board, twd tough shot, Holly may have
got a piece of it bad one pass and tub
right pack for the five under four to play. Seven
point New Jersey leaves col O'Neil powers head top shot
and it's a one point game. A ten to two
(19:25):
run right now for the Indiana Pacers. Over the last
four minutes, what was a nine point leader's.
Speaker 10 (19:32):
Been cut to one?
Speaker 12 (19:35):
Can't the jumper puts it in taste a tad another
big bucket.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
The Pacers push back the kids jumper and the Nets
up ninety four to ninety one with a minute to go.
Miller's two free throws cut into one kids pair push
the lead back to three ninety six ninety three. The
net's gotta stop with Indiana's Kevin Ollie missed at the rim.
Richard Jefferson Graham the rema Ali found them at RJ
(20:02):
headed to the line with five point one seconds left
and missed both. Chaos followed. Indiana's Austin Kroschier grabbed the rebound.
The Pacers pushed the ball up the floor. It was
pure desperation. And then play back and the game is time.
(20:23):
We're going over time.
Speaker 8 (20:26):
Here's Rod Thorn, Richard goest the line, missus too. They rebound,
come down the court. Miller fires one from between the
top of the key and the center court makes it.
Knocked it in. Now did he get it off in time?
And those days you couldn't go over and take a look.
There was no it's to replay for the referees, and
(20:51):
so referee counted it. Even if it was late, which
it was, you you had no recourse. I remember when
Miller made the shot, and again my feeling was it
was late. But I'm getting ready to walk out of
the box that I set in to watch the games.
(21:13):
And when he made that shot, I fell to my knees.
It was that kind of shot, and you know Ressie
Beller was known for doing that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It was another dramatic moment for Miller in a career
full of them. It was also, if you ask anybody
around the nuts about it, a shot that shouldn't have counted.
Speaker 12 (21:32):
Now the officials are concurring, Bob. The lady singled yes,
Joe Crawford now saying with the other official checking it,
and they say, yes, it beat the buzzer. Let's take
a listen, and then again a key listen for the buzzer.
Speaker 8 (21:46):
The ball is in his hand, the red light to me,
the red light is on behind.
Speaker 12 (21:50):
The backboard, which means right there the game should be overview.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
That was way after the buzzer. That wasn't fingertips like
Reggie was loaded when that went off. And then I
just remember Kid going to a completely different level and
overtime it was almost like enough of this stuff already,
like enough of this, We're not gonna win, and the
game slows down or you can't win unless you play
in the half court. And what we all now know,
(22:18):
it's great players make great plays in the playoffs. Great
players have moments in the playoff that's just the way
that it goes. And I remember Kid and the moment
where it was uncharacteristic for him to score and dominate games.
I remember him just completely saying, all right, enough already,
even though you know in the Pacers were well accomplished
enough already with this stuff, you guys aren't on my level.
(22:41):
I'm going to a new level and there's no way
anybody can touch me here. And there were moments when
he did that, his domination down the stretch of scoring, passing, rebounding,
pushing the ball late where everyone else walks it up,
that's what really stood out to me.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
In that game, they traded baskets for the first few
minutes of overtime, be for one of those razors edge
plays that changes everything. The Pacers were up one hundred
to ninety eight with two minutes to go when Indiana's
Ron Mercer drove the baseline, Kid stepped in front and
drew contact. Mercer scored. The whistle blew. Here's Rod Thorn.
Speaker 8 (23:18):
There's a collision near the hoop, and referee called it
a charge.
Speaker 10 (23:24):
Is it a charge or a block?
Speaker 8 (23:27):
He called it a charge, so we get the ball,
go down score, they missed, We score, and we ended
up winning the game. But if that call, I still
can see that play could have gone either way. If
they get that call, chances are they win the game.
Speaker 10 (23:43):
And michael'corrn ron Mercer drives baseline with them up too,
with Indiana up two, and kid comes over and it's
one of those calls. He could go your way if
you can go against you, and they called an offensive
foul on Mercer. Now the ball went in. If that
one in, he goes and they go off five with
under two minutes, it could have been a problem for us.
(24:04):
They called it offensive foul. Martin scores to tie it up.
It was literally right in front of al bench that baseline.
I don't know who made the call, but it could
have been a bock. But because Jason was such a
fierce defender and All First Team All defender that then
you got the benefit. I do it, and that happens
with superstars.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
But Miller still wasn't done with them. With the Nets
up by two in the final seconds of the first overtime,
Reggie busted down the lane for a two handed dunk
that tied the game again. With three seconds left.
Speaker 12 (24:37):
Miller gets past Kettles Miller.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Inside with the five pretree.
Speaker 8 (24:43):
Miller ties up with.
Speaker 10 (24:44):
Three point wasn't remaining.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
That was the last of his thirty one points. Here's
Curry Kettle's.
Speaker 10 (24:51):
He's laid Darby's.
Speaker 11 (24:52):
I mean, yes, he's still good.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
What that game?
Speaker 10 (24:55):
It was like, who is this guy?
Speaker 11 (24:57):
I mean I was all over him and every shot
he took this seat, but he was not gonna miss.
Speaker 8 (25:02):
I remember when he drove past me down the lane
and Duncan our entire.
Speaker 11 (25:06):
Team, and I'm like, he's thirty eight, thirty nine years old?
What's going on here? Reggie Miller?
Speaker 14 (25:12):
And that Game five stands out in my career because
it's you don't have many moments playing against iconic players.
Everything's on the line now, right, It's game five, Winneba
Hall postseason, you know, it's money time, and there you
have it. He's putting up a performance. It's probably one
of his best player of performances in the loss for sure,
(25:33):
in the loss and.
Speaker 8 (25:34):
Iron Eagle Reggie Miller.
Speaker 7 (25:36):
The heave at the end of regulation, incredible, absolutely incredible.
Reggie Miller first overtime, A big dunk to keep the
facers in it. That's what all of famers do. But
in that second overtime, you could feel it. You could
feel the separation, and you could feel chasing Kidd willing
this team to the finish line, and he just was
(25:59):
knocked going to let them lose. It wasn't gonna happen.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
And you asked the question earlier, why was he brought here?
Speaker 10 (26:06):
This is why he was brought here.
Speaker 12 (26:07):
This fourth quarter is his time. He has the last
seven New Jersey points, eleven of his twenty two here
in this fourth quarter, two clutch free throws from Jason
Kirk need answers right back, Kid with the hand. What
a player from Jason Kirk ally trying to go for
the steal.
Speaker 8 (26:27):
Kiddnocks a dime and.
Speaker 12 (26:29):
It gives him a five point lead in the second overtime.
Kidd has played the entire second half in overtimes. Kid
has to put it up, Bye, puts it head Dolly
right this face and the nets back up by five.
Jason kidt a spectacular performance.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Kids scored twelve points in the fourth corner to keep
the season alive and ended up one of those absolutely
crazy stat lines. Thirty one points, eight rebounds, seven assists,
and four steals in fifty two minutes.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Probably wasn't my best shooting game, but I wasn't afraid
of the moment of taking big shots or fighting the
open guy, and so it was fun because also when
we look at the players in the league who watch championships,
they've always delivered in those situations, and so to do
it our first year in New Jersey was something that
I'll never forget.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Kid had spent the entire season lifting the nets to
New Heights and ended up finishing second in the MVP voting.
His will to win had changed the mentality of the
entire franchise. Here's Todd McCullough.
Speaker 9 (27:35):
I think he just wouldn't let us lose, and I
think he just has the ability to do whatever it
takes to win. He just willed us to victory, and
I think he really wanted to go on to the
next round. And I think players of that stature that
have the ball in their hands and they you know,
they believe in themselves and they believe in us, they
can take control of the game.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
I think he did that.
Speaker 9 (27:56):
He felt like it was his time, that the Reggie
had has his time, and it was Kid Ten.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Ain't Curry Kittles.
Speaker 13 (28:02):
Jake Kidd was a different breed. There was a mini
guy in the league like Jay Kidd. I mean, you
could caught him on one hand, the guys who were
mentally tough and who really thrived under pressure.
Speaker 11 (28:14):
He always seemed composed, never rushed. There was games where
he'd have eight nine turnovers and it was just like
he get the ball again. He wouldn't slow down, he
wouldn't hesitate at all, and he wasn't known to be
a scorer. And there you have it, thirty one points
in a big game. There's a reason why it was
Jason Kidd, a Hall of Famer. Was the reason why
(28:35):
he was in the conversation for MVP that year.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
It wasn't a solo act. Keith Van Horne at twenty
seven points and made five to three pointers out of
eight attempts. There was also Kenyan Martin, who had made
a promise to Rod Thorn after Game one. Just like Kidd,
Martin played every minute of Game five after halftime. He
played fifty six or fifty eight minutes in the double
overtime game and scored twenty nine points, eight rebounds, four
(29:02):
resists and two steals. Here's Curry Kittles a coming.
Speaker 13 (29:07):
Out party for Ginian as well in the postseason, but
this is his first playoff experience and he's going up
against a tough opponent in Jermaine O'Neil, and they're going
at it and it's really competitive in the paint. Because
you know, that's what Kenyan operated, and so he found
a way. I think as a player he wasn't necessarily
super skilled, but Kenyan found a way of affecting the game,
(29:28):
impacting the game using his quickness, slashing, getting to the
free throw line.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
And Jason Kidd, when.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You talk about k Mark our emotional leader, he's our
hard he delivered because when you talk about Indiana again,
a team that I really considered not an age seed
in that year of the playoffs, being able to score,
to get out on the break, and then also his
post up to his little jump hook or his little floater,
and then again he wasn't scared a lot of times
(29:58):
in these situations you conduck and hide. And so I
was very happy see kmar responding rang the bell for
us that day and helped us win that game.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Jason Collins in.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
The playoffs, your superstars need to be superstars, and then
the bench guys need to do your job, and as
Shaq would say, the others need to do your job
kind of thing. So we were very fortunate that our
superstars were superstars. Our superstars were definitely Jason Kidd and
Kenyan Martin, but the others being Kerrie Kittles, Keith Van Horn,
(30:30):
Richard Jefferson, Aaron Wayms, Todd McCullough. He had great hands
and ability to finish. It was really a team effort,
Lucius Harris, Sweet Lou coming in. You know, we had shooters,
so we had a lot of guys who stepped up
and supported our two main horses in j Kidd and Kaymer.
Here's a battle we just had to fight. There's no
(30:51):
easy way to say it other than just especially in
the NBA back in the day when that's two thousand
and two playoffs, very physical. So it's a battle and
we were very fortunate come out on top in that
playoff series.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
It was a first round series that felt like the
finals for all the way that carried it meant these
were not the same old Nets. They were not a
fluke number one seed. They had faced a playoff tested
team and survived in the most pressure filled circumstances. They
were moving on another step on the road that would
take them to the NBA Finals. Here's Ion Eagle.
Speaker 7 (31:30):
Ultimately, it was the biggest win in franchise history and
you could feel it courtside at the Midlands. I was
doing the game next to Bill Raftrie, who had been
associated with the team for so long, and the emotions
attached to it watching it.
Speaker 8 (31:46):
Not just through my eyes at that point.
Speaker 7 (31:49):
I had done eight years at play by play with
a net, so a long enough stretch to certainly feel
all of the emotions that you feel.
Speaker 8 (32:00):
But Bill had been there a long.
Speaker 7 (32:02):
Time, and to watch it through his lens as well
for me on a personal level added something special to
the whole night. It was cathartic in many ways. Anyone
that was a fan of the nets or covered the
nets certainly worked for the Nets. It was this release
(32:23):
because the team had finally arrived and it was just
the second round, but it meant so much.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
And Chris Carino that to me was the most important.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
That Game five against the Pacers was the most important
game of me in franchise history in the last twenty years,
because no one was buying us as a number one seed,
and you're going up against the great Pacer team and
they don't go to the finals if they lose, and
maybe they take a step back and don't play as
well the next year, maybe they break up the team
if they don't win that yeraries against Indiana, and think
(32:53):
about just getting the one seed and then getting to
the finals. What he did for the perception of the franchise.
They'd always been kind of lumped in with the Clippers
all those years, kind of the second fiddle in town,
never really won anything, never made any noise, and then
all of a sudden, they go to the finals, and
now it's like the Nets have been of the finals.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
The Nets were four.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
Wins away from an NBA championship. That just put them
in another level. It changed the way you thought of
the entire franchise. And it was all on the line
in that Game five against Indiana.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Next week, the Nets take on legendary franchises, coming back
to beat the Celtics in the conference finals, ever reaching
their first NBA Finals against the Lakers,
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