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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – With All Star guard Stephon Marbury
out for the season, New Jersey coach Byron Scott at times had more
players on the bench in suits than in uniforms.
|  | | Kerry Kittles, left, Stephon Marbury and Kenyon Martin found plenty to smile about as their healthy teammates beat Denver. |
Against the Denver Nuggets that didn't make a difference, not
the way Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris, Johnny Newman and recently
signed Doug Overton stepped up.
Van Horn scored 25 points as New Jersey beat Denver 99-96 on Wednesday night, just hours after learning that Marbury would be
lost for the season with a ruptured tendon in his left pinkie.
Marbury, who is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday, is the
sixth player the Nets have lost to a season-ending injury.
"We collectively have to look at ourselves and say we have to
step up," Van Horn said. "We've obviously lost some very good
players. Everyone has to look inside themselves and say: 'I have to
play much better."'
Harris added 21 points, Overton had 17 and Newman hit two free throws with 6.6 seconds to play and blocked a last-second 3-pointer by James Posey to protect the win and keep the Nets mathematically alive in the playoff race.
"Everybody's playing for something, respect, contracts, whatever," said Harris, who had a career-high 12 rebounds. "We just have to come out and play hard and continue playing this way the rest of the way."
Antonio McDyess had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Denver. Raef
LaFrentz added 18 points and 13 rebounds, but missed two free
throws with 8.3 seconds left and the Nuggets trailing 97-96.
"It came down to my free throws," LaFrentz. "They both felt pretty good when they left my hand. It rattled out."
Trailing 96-85 with 3:06 to play, Denver went on an 11-1 run
that was sparked by Robert Pack, who had a season-high 15 assists. Pack scored five points in the outburst and fed McDyess for a slam with 36 seconds to play to get the Nuggets within a point.
LaFrentz missed his free throws in the closing seconds and
Newman came up with two big plays.
With Marbury sitting on the bench with Kenyon Martin, Kendall
Gill and Kerry Kittles, the Nets looked like they were headed for
another big loss when the Nuggets opened an 11-point lead early in
the second quarter.
New Jersey trimmed the deficit to five points in the closing
minutes of the quarter, and then went on a 15-2 run in the final
3:20 of the half.
Overton, making his first start, hit two 3-pointer and got two
assists, including one on a 3-pointer by Harris for a 57-49 lead.
"It's an opportunity," said Overton, now in his ninth season. "That's how I look at it. I've been through a lot this year. I have been through a lot all my years. I just want to help us win the last eight games."
New Jersey extended the lead to 18 points late in the third
quarter, before Denver started its comeback.
Game notes
Marbury is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday. He injured the finger in mid-January. Nuggets point guard Nick Van
Exel (back) missed his second straight game and fourth of the
season. ... Denver forwards Terry Davis (calf) and George McCloud (back) were also sidelined. ... New Jersey used only eight players. Soumaila Samake and Vladimir Stepania didn't play because of a coach's decision. Mark Strickland, the former Nugget signed to a 10-day contract earlier in the day, got eight points in 14
minutes...The Nets have now used 19 different starting lineups this
season. The latest version was Van Horn-Newman-Evan
Eschmeyer-Harris-Overton.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
Pinkie problem: Marbury out for rest of season
May: Brutal Nets one disaster after another
RECAPS
New Jersey 99
Denver 96
Orlando 96
Philadelphia 95
Phoenix 103
Cleveland 94
Dallas 94
Portland 84
Seattle 94
Minnesota 93
Sacramento 108
LA Lakers 84
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