Spurs, Duncan Beat ‘Scared’ Nets

Tim Duncan not only beat the Nets again, he made them play scared.

That was the assessment of New Jersey Coach Byron Scott after the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions lost to Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, 85-71, Wednesday at East Rutherford, N.J., in their first meeting since the NBA Finals.

“It’s the first time we played that way, just scared to play,” Scott said after the Nets lost for the fifth time in eight games.

“I don’t know if it’s because we didn’t get off to a good start playing a team that has all its weapons. They want to get back on track, and it looked like we were scared to play the way we’re capable of playing.”

Duncan had much to do with that with a season-high 31 points and 12 rebounds to overshadow a 14-point, 13-assist, 12-rebound performance by Net guard Jason Kidd.

Kidd, who spurned a free-agent offer from the Spurs in the off-season, deferred to Scott on whether the Nets played scared.

“He has a better view than I do,” Kidd said. “If that’s what he sees, if that’s the case, we’ve got to find some way to get the enjoyment back into the game and have some fun and not make it such a struggle.”

Nothing was a struggle for Duncan, who made 12 of 19 shots and blocked three shots, including two by Kidd in the third quarter.

Tony Parker added 17 points in his second game of the season and Manu Ginobili had 12 points and eight rebounds as the Spurs won their second consecutive game since Duncan and Parker returned to the lineup.

Miami 88, Cleveland 83 -- Eddie Jones scored 25 points and Lamar Odom added 14 points and 10 assists at Miami, helping the Heat become the final NBA team to break into the victory column.

LeBron James had 18 points on six-of-15 shooting for the Cavaliers, who failed in their bid for the franchise’s first three-game winning streak since April 2002.

Memphis 107, Orlando 97 -- The Grizzlies withstood a season-high 36 points from Tracy McGrady and handed the Magic its seventh consecutive loss.

Forwards Pau Gasol and James Posey had 28 and 24 points, respectively, in leading the Grizzlies to their second road win of the season.

Chicago 89, Boston 82 -- Jalen Rose scored 20 points and Eddy Curry added 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Bulls defeated the Celtics at Boston for their third road victory, matching their total from last season.

Chicago’s third consecutive road win improved the Bulls to 3-1 on the road. They finished 3-38 away from home in 2002-03.

Seattle 104, Milwaukee 99 -- Rashard Lewis had 31 points and nine rebounds to lead the SuperSonics over the Bucks at Milwaukee.

Lewis, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, was 12 of 19 from the field as the SuperSonics improved to 3-0 on the road.

New Orleans 96, Utah 89 -- Baron Davis had 23 points and nine assists at New Orleans, and the Hornets won for the first time in three games.

Matt Harpring scored 20 points to lead the Jazz, which dropped to 0-4 on the road.

Atlanta 99, Phoenix 94 -- Dion Glover scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks to their first victory at Phoenix in nearly 12 years.

Stephen Jackson had 18, Jason Terry scored 17 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 16 for the Hawks.

Golden State 87, Detroit 85 -- Calbert Cheaney made two big shots in overtime while scoring a season-high 24 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Pistons at Oakland.

Cliff Robinson helped put away his former teammates, making a jumper with 43 seconds left. Cheaney made 12 of 16 shots.