Nets Are in Disarray After a 47-Point Loss

Could Byron Scott’s days as New Jersey coach be numbered, or was Saturday night’s game at Memphis, Tenn., just the low point in the Nets’ season?

New Jersey had a lot of explaining to do after it was routed by Memphis, 110-63, the Grizzlies’ most lopsided victory in franchise history.

But the Nets weren’t eager to talk -- at least to the press. The locker room was closed for more than 30 minutes and loud arguments -- often decorated with profanity -- could be heard in the hallway.

Players griped about their 30 turnovers and what some considered a lack of energy on the court. Players also could be heard accusing teammates of not guarding their men.

“When you lose by 47, it ranks pretty high up there as one of the worst ever,” Scott said. “I don’t think in the four years I’ve been here that we’ve played that bad.”

But Scott said the team had a “productive meeting.”

“This is family ... you’re going to have fights and disagreements, guys fussing at one another, the coach fussing at players and players fussing at the coach,” he said.

The Grizzlies’ Mike Miller downplayed Memphis’ fourth consecutive home victory.

“It doesn’t happen very often and it won’t happen very often, especially against a good time like them,” Miller said. “We just caught them on one of those nights and we had a lot of energy.”

Bonzi Wells led the Grizzlies with 22 points. Kenyon Martin led New Jersey with 12 points.

Boston 105, Cleveland 98 -- Paul Pierce scored a season-high 41 points and stole the ball from LeBron James in the closing seconds at Cleveland to help the Celtics win their fifth consecutive game.

James scored a season-high 37, but Cleveland’s rookie missed a three-point shot in the last two minutes and was stripped by Pierce with 13.9 seconds to play and the Cavaliers trailing by four.

Boston has won 12 in a row over Cleveland.

New York 95, Denver 88 -- At New York, Antonio McDyess scored a season-high 15 points against the team that traded him nearly 18 months ago and the Knicks ended a losing streak at six.

McDyess made his first start since March of 2002, replacing Kurt Thomas (sore knee). McDyess, playing his seventh game since coming back from a knee injury, scored seven points in the final four minutes.

Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 25 points, and Marcus Camby had 12 points and 12 rebounds in his first appearance at Madison Square Garden since the Knicks sent him to Denver as part of the five-player trade that brought McDyess to New York.

Chicago 86, Indiana 75 -- Jamal Crawford and Kirk Hinrich scored 18 points apiece at Chicago and the Bulls used a 16-0 third-quarter run to defeat the Pacers.

The Bulls, breaking a four-game losing streak and improving to 2-4 since Scott Skiles became coach, defeated the top team in the Eastern Conference with their second-half hustle and the inside play of Marcus Fizer, who had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Jerome Williams, who added 10 points and 15 rebounds.

San Antonio 86, Houston 73 -- Manu Ginobili scored 16 points and Tony Parker had 14 points and 12 assists at San Antonio to help the Spurs defeat the Rockets for the second time in three days.

Orlando 105, Atlanta 102 -- Shammond Williams had a key steal and five free throws down the stretch at Atlanta as the Magic rallied to defeat the Hawks.