Van Horn's 35 Gives Nets Win

There has never been any question about Keith Van Horn's place with the New Jersey Nets. He's the golden boy who has quickly developed into a team leader.

Damon Jones is an altogether different story. Undrafted after three seasons at Houston University, the 6-foot-3 guard got his first NBA chance when he was signed by the Nets Monday.

Van Horn and Jones teamed together to provide the spark Tuesday to lift the Nets to a 97-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Van Horn tallied a career-high 35 points as the Nets snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 2-4, while Jones came off the bench to score 10 fourth-period points and send the Pistons (3-4) to their fourth straight setback.

"I felt really good tonight," said Van Horn, who hit 11 of 18 field goals and 12 of 13 free throws. "I was just having fun out there. I wasn't pressing, I was laughing, having fun. We all play better that way."

Nobody on the Nets had more fun than Jones, who made his NBA debut Monday in Miami after signing a 10-day contract.

"On a 10-day contract, you only have so many opportunities," said Jones, who has spent the last year and a half playing in three different leagues, most recently the CBA. "I feel very comfortable. Coach (John) Calipari gave me a sense of confidence from Day One. I'm just going to play as hard as I can, and if the shots present themselves, I'm going to knock then down."

Calipari was delighted with both Van Horn and Jones.

"Obviously Keith Van Horn did what he had to do and Damon Jones did what we called him up to do," said Calipari. "But more importantly, we played New Jersey basketball."

After trailing 48-46 at the haf, the Nets opened the third period with a 23-7 burst.

Van Horn started things with a jumper before Jerry Stackhouse scored on a steal and dunk for the Pistons. Van Horn added a free throw and Eric Murdock tossed in a 3-pointer, making it 52-50 before Don Reid hit a free throw for Detroit.

The Nets scored the next 12 points, six by Kerry Kittles. Then, after Grant Hill scored twice for the Pistons, Van Horn hit three straight technical fouls -- one on Hill and two on Detroit coach Alvin Gentry, who was ejected -- and Murdock added a jumper for a 69-55 edge.

"I'm very disappointed," said Hill, who finished with 22 points. "The third quarter, I don't know what happened. They made plays and we didn't. I didn't see any fire out of anybody."

The Pistons closed to 69-62 at the end of the third period, but Jones hit two 3-pointers and a jumper as New Jersey opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 spurt to ice the victory.

Despite 24 points by Van Horn, New Jersey trailed by two points at the intermission.

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