NEW JERSEY VS. LAKERS/ GAME 3 REPORT

FIRST QUARTER: LAKERS 31 NEW JERSEY 23

Highlight reel: A Bruce Springsteen video on the scoreboard, empty seats in the arena, a screaming public address announcer and a “Beat L.A.� chant. How very unexpected. How very original. Ah, well, this has been a predictable series so far. Why should Game 3 be any different? Perhaps matters would be different if Net forward Kenyon Martin popped somebody in the head and said bad things about his mother. But the Nets have rolled over, as expected, in a series they had no hope of winning, and they now are playing simply to avoid being laughed at.

Not in the box score: A pulse to this series. Nothing about it has been intriguing so far. On Sunday, neither the New York Times nor the New York Post--hardly ever mentioned in the same sentence--ran a story about the series on the cover of their sports sections. And with good reason. No one, outside of Southern California and perhaps Secaucus, N.J., seems to care.

Winning numbers: The Nets’ 11-for-22 shooting.

Wrong numbers: For the Nets, the Lakers made 12 of 22.

Leading scorers: Lakers--Shaquille O’Neal 11, Derek Fisher 9; Nets--Martin and Jason Kidd 6.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--O’Neal 4, Kobe Bryant and Robert Horry 3; Nets--Keith Van Horn 3, Richard Jefferson 2.

*

SECOND QUARTER: LAKERS 52 NEW JERSEY 46

Highlight reel: Todd MacCulloch drove toward the basket and O’Neal let him get a step, watched him launch his shot and spiked it out of bounds. Pity that the referees determined that it was goaltending (it was) because it underscored the Lakers’ dominance over their overmatched foes. Only the Lakers could make this a close quarter, playing as if they were only vaguely interested in the annoying pests buzzing around them on the court. The Big Swat would still tear up the Nets if Coach Byron Scott decided to place backup Jason Collins on MacCulloch’s shoulders in a novel attempt to defend O’Neal.

Not in the box score: The Nets’ motivation at this point has to be based in the rock-solid belief that, if they don’t play with passion and precision, they will go down as the most overwhelmed finalists in recent memory. The Nets did have a spark there for a few minutes in the quarter, showing something approaching competitive fire during a credible final four minutes of the half.

Winning numbers: O’Neal’s 10 points on three-for-six shooting.

Wrong number: The Nets’ seven-for-17 shooting.

Leading scorers: Lakers--O’Neal 10, Bryant 6; Nets--Martin 5, Jefferson 4.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--Devean George 3, O’Neal and Bryant 2; Nets--Kidd and Collins 2.

*

THIRD QUARTER: LAKERS 78 NEW JERSEY 78

Highlight reel: Finally, there is a sign of life from New Jersey. The Nets hit their stride toward the end of the quarter, finishing with an 8-0 run sparked by Kidd, who began to run around the floor the way he so often did this season. Did this mean the Nets finally had shed the jitters that had them frozen in their tracks for much of the first two games? The Nets were better, moving the ball and their feet, which sounds simple enough, but proved difficult earlier. They did precious little with the ball in Games 1 and 2 and paid for it with a two-games-to-none deficit.

Not in the box score: The Lakers seemed to stand and watch as the Nets went to a sagging zone defense that cut off the easy pass routes to O’Neal, gambling that the Lakers could not beat them from the outside. It worked in the final 1:39 of this quarter, giving the Nets a bit of hope for the final quarter. The Lakers seemed unfazed, but did little about their change in fortunes.

Winning number: Zero, the Nets’ deficit at the end of the quarter.

Wrong number: Horry played only six minutes because of foul trouble.

Leading scorers: Lakers--Bryant 10, O’Neal 9; Nets--Kidd 10, Martin 9.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--O’Neal 2; Nets--Lucious Harris 2.

*

FOURTH QUARTER: LAKERS 106 NEW JERSEY 103

Highlight reel: Horry, saddled with four fouls, made his presence felt with a three-point basket that completed the Lakers’ rally from a deficit that had reached seven points with 8:48 left. Bryant, with the 24-second clock about to expire, swished a long-range jump shot with Martin hanging on him. Suddenly, and quite remarkably, the Lakers had a 100-96 lead with 2:17 left. O’Neal made the defensive play of the game with 48 seconds left with a blocked shot on a driving Kidd. As O’Neal fell to the floor hard after the block, George alertly saved the ball to Bryant.

Not in the box score: An answer to the question: Was this the Nets’ best shot? They played superbly in long stretches, particularly during a 14-0 run that took them to an 84-78 lead with 10:56 remaining. The Nets deserved credit for finally challenging the Lakers, playing the game that got them this far. But the Nets simply don’t have any more to give.

Winning numbers: The Lakers’ late 13-4 run that gave them the lead for the first time in the quarter with 3:04 remaining.

Wrong numbers: For the Nets, Bryant’s 36 points and O’Neal’s 35 by game’s end.

Leading scorers: Lakers--Bryant 12, George 6; Nets--Kidd 11, Martin 6.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--George 5, O’Neal 3; Nets--Kerry Kittles and Kidd 2.