NEW JERSEY at SAN ANTONIO (ANALYSIS)
Tonight at 7:30 pm NEW JERSEY plays at SAN ANTONIO. NEW JERSEY comes in on 1 day rest after an 88-79 loss at DALLAS and will be playing the second game of a 4 day road trip. NEW JERSEY has lost 8 of their last 12 games since the break.
SAN ANTONIO also comes in on 1 day rest after a 104-97 home loss to PHOENIX. They are 13-2 in their last 15 games, and seem to be unstopable at this point.
These two went at it in NEW JERSEY on Nov 13,2002 where NEW JERSEY came out on top 91-82. In that game NEW JERSEY led by as many as 12 and SAN ANTONIO led by as many as 6. At the half it was SA 43-NJ 41, and at the end of 3 it was NJ 64-SA61. A huge factor in that game was the fast break points where NEW JERSEY dominated 21 to 2.
NEW JERSEY came into the game on 3 days rest after being a favored 7' point straight up loser at CHICAGO.
SAN ANTONIO came in on 1 day rest after a home win over MINNESOTA 91-75 as an 8' point favorite.
NEW JERSEY held a slight advantage on the off boards, and commanded the def boards. SAN ANTONIO pulled to within four 74-70 with 7:45 to go, but then NEW JERSEY went on a 10-2 run
to assure the victory.
NEW JERSEY has won the last three games in the series, but the thing that really stands out is the similarity of those games. SAN ANTONIO always seems to make a desperate run against the NETS well into the 4th quarter, but unfortunately falling short in the process.
The closest that the SPURS came to winning was on Jan 14th last year. The game was tied 97-97 after the SAN ANTONIO run, and SAN ANTONIO'S STEVE SMITH cut to the basket with what appeared to be a clear layup and probably would have been the winning basket. Out of nowhere comes TODD MAC CULLOCH to swat the ball away to JASON KIDD who along with TERRY KITTLES went on a 4 to 1 fast break the other way, with KITTLES slam dunking the ball with only 6 seconds left, leaving SAN ANTONIO in nearly complete shock.
If there ever was a team that wanted to get even on the next meeting, it was SAN ANTONIO. And that next meeting came 8 days later in SAN ANTONIO. I'd sure like to have the money that was bet on the SPURS in that game. They were a 7 point favorite in that game, playing on 2 days rest, while NEW JERSEY came in the next day on no rest after a loss on the road at DALLAS 113-105. Again the fast break points were instrumental NJ 20-SA 11. The rest of the stats were pretty close, except for the off and def boards where NEW JERSEY again showed their superiority. The score was NJ 79- SA 77 after SAN ANTONIO scored 13 unanswered points in their run for the finish with 4:47 left in the game. But again they could not finish off the NETS, who went on to win 92-86. The NETS called it their biggest win at that point in the season.
SAN ANTONIO has a large psychological edge in this game winning 13 of the last 15, and NEW JERSEY probably questioning themseves after losing 8 of their last 12. But SAN ANTONIO also had the perfect scenario last year in the game mentioned above.
It should be a good game that will undoubtedly keep the fans on the edge of their seats, depending upon the effort that NEW JERSEY displays in the game.
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