Spurs Bring Down The Nets

Stephon Marbury's 29-footer touched nothing but air, and the New Jersey Nets had lost another close one.

Marbury tossed up an airball from well behind the 3-point line with one second left Monday night, sealing the Nets' 106-104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

"The last shot wasn't the reason we lost the game," said Marbury, who scored 34 points to lead New Jersey. "Obviously if I made it we would have won, but it's not why we lost. We lost the game because we were supposed to rotate, they got open threes."

David Robinson scored 25 and Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Avery Johnson added 16 points and 11 assists.

Keith Van Horn added 23 points for New Jersey, which is 7-17 in games decided by five points or less.

After trailing 106-100 with 1:23 to play following a 3-pointer by Jaren Jackson, New Jersey closed to 106-104 on consecutive field goals by Marbury and Van Horn, the last with 37.9 seconds remaining.

Following a San Antonio turnover with 19.9 seconds to play, Marbury dribbled into traffic and lost control, but the ball went out of bounds last touched by the Spurs.

After a timeout, Marbury took the inbounds pass and pulled up from five feet behind the 3-point line, missing by about a foot. Robinson rebounded the airball as time expired to give the Nets another frustrating last-second loss.

"They pushed us out so far," New Jersey coach Don Casey said of the last-second attempt. "Steph was going to put his head down and go to the basket but time just wouldn't allow it. The three was a good shot, he went for the win and I don't blame him."

The win was San Antonio's second this season by two points over New Jersey. The Spurs defeated the Nets 96-94 on Dec. 2 when Duncan blocked Marbury's game-tying drive with two seconds remaining.

"It was a great game, we needed this win after a couple of losses," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "It was good because New Jersey is one of those teams that gives us trouble. They are very quick."

After trailing 74-69 midway through the third quarter, San Antonio went on a 7-1 run to lead 76-75 on Robinson's dunk with 3:33 to play.

Robinson scored four of San Antonio's final six points in the third quarter as the Spurs led 84-81 going into the fourth.

Activated prior to the game when Steve Kerr was put on the injured list, rookie Derrick Dial keyed a 9-4 San Antonio run with seven points as the Spurs grabbed a 93-85 lead with 8:21 to play on Dial's 3-pointer. Playing in his first NBA game, Dial scored nine points in the second half.

"He showed some guts out there," said Popovich of Dial, who played collegiately at Eastern Michigan. "That's what he has shown us all through the year. He's a great young man. He has a lot of talent and he wants it badly."

After New Jersey cut the lead to 93-91 on two free throws by Kerry Kittles with 4:50 remaining, Jackson connected on a 3-point field goal and Johnson a layup as San Antonio led 98-91 with 4:07 remaining.

"We had a few opportunities to get away from them but they made big plays," said Robinson, who also pulled down 13 rebounds. "They don't go away. We watched them on TV a lot, and they play a lot of close games. This win was crucial for us."

Both teams connected on more than half of their shots in the first half as New Jersey led 59-57 at halftime. Marbury had 16 points to lead the Nets, while Johnson and Mario Elie each had 12 for San Antonio.

"I thought we played an outstanding game," Casey said. "We got some solid, hard play out of our guys. An L is an L, but to play one of the top teams on their court as well as we did is encouraging."

Notes