After coming off the bench to which he is usually nailed and scoring a career-high 17 points, Brian Scalabrine said he thought he had just played six overtimes.
"I don't think I've ever been involved in anything this big, on this stage, in my life," said Scalabrine, a third-year pro out of Southern Cal who averaged 3.5 points a game during the regular season. "Maybe this will propel my career into something special."
PHOTO: EPA
Whatever else happens in Scalabrine's career, he certainly enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame here Friday night. What he accomplished during the Nets' triple-overtime 127-120 victory over the Detroit Pistons was not lost on Nets Coach Lawrence Frank.
PHOTO: REUTERS
He waited outside the visitors' locker room until Scalabrine walked off the court to give him a hug and a high-five.
Entering the game, Scalabrine had scarcely been heard from in these playoffs. Over the first four games of the series, he had scored a grand total of 6 points. He had played a total of just 35 minutes over the Nets' first eight games of the playoffs -- and he did not even play in two games. In his entire career, Scalabrine had scored 19 points in the playoffs.
Before Friday night, Scalabrine's career playoff high had been 7 points, which he scored in the first game of the Nets' first series against the Knicks.
But the Nets, who had three big men foul out -- Kenyon Martin, Jason Collins and Rodney Rogers -- needed Scalabrine, and he delivered in a big way.
In 23 minutes, Scalabrine made six of seven shots, including all four 3-point attempts. The biggest 3-pointer came from the left corner with 41.5 seconds remaining in the third overtime. It gave the Nets a 122-118 lead.
But Scalabrine, who also nailed a foul shot with 27.1 seconds remaining to give the Nets a 123-118 lead, said his biggest contribution was something that could not be found in the box score.
"You guys can talk about all the shots I made, but I truly believe the biggest play I made today was saving that ball from going out of bounds," Scalabrine said.
Scalabrine was referring to the rebound of a missed 3-point attempt by Richard Jefferson late in the second overtime with the Nets trailing, 111-110. The rebound caromed out toward the left corner. Scalabrine leapt out of bounds to save the ball, reaching around Tayshaun Prince enough to bat the ball back in play to Jefferson.
Jefferson was fouled by Rasheed Wallace with 29 seconds to play. Jefferson made 1 of 2 free throws, sending the game into the third overtime.
"But I wouldn't even be sitting here if Chauncey didn't make that shot," Scalabrine said after the game.
Scalabrine was referring to the 43-foot prayer that Chauncey Billups banked in from one step inside the halfcourt line at the buzzer in regulation, which tied the score at 88-88 and sent the game into overtime.
Billups' shot also set the stage for Scalabrine's unlikely heroics.
"Veal was unbelievable," said Lucious Harris, using Scalabrine's nickname. "The guy came in and really played his heart out."
Harris did not do so bad himself, contributing 12 points off the bench, including 5 at the start of the third overtime. "That's our job, to come off the bench and get a spark going," he said.
Nobody did that better than Scalabrine, even though the Pistons were trying to exploit his defense during the overtimes.
"Sometimes he messes up at the other end and gets a little crazy sometimes," Harris said of Scalabrine's less-than-stellar defense. "But when Scal's on, Scal's on. The guy works extremely hard."
Timberwolves 86, Kings 74
Latrell Sprewell knew aggression was the answer to Minnesota's search for success.
And with Sprewell at his slashing and scoring best, the Timberwolves moved within one win of the Western Conference finals.
Sprewell had 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Minnesota, which beat the Sacramento Kings 86-74 Friday night to take a 3-2 lead in this series.
"I think our entire team was really focused," Sprewell said. "We played with a purpose."
Game 6 is today in Sacramento. Game 7, if necessary, would be Wednesday in Minneapolis. But the Kings will have to shoot and play a lot better if they want to force a Game 7.
"We've been in this position before," said Chris Webber, who labored for 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting.
Brad Miller was ejected late in the third quarter without scoring, and leading scorer Peja Stojakovic disappeared once again -- going 0-for-4 in the second half and finishing with 12 points for the Kings.
Sacramento's much-celebrated offense missed two-thirds of its shots -- going 27-for-81.
"We never got on track," coach Rick Adelman said.
Much of the credit for that goes to Minnesota. After a woeful performance in Game 4, the Wolves were aggressive and tenacious at both ends of the court.
That started with Sprewell.
"There were lanes there," he said. "I was just trying to get to get to the basket ... In this series, the more aggressive team -- they're getting the calls and they're getting the breaks."
Kevin Garnett, who had seven points, three rebounds and seven turnovers in the first half, wound up with 23 points and 12 rebounds. He helped hound Webber and Miller on defense, too. The pair combined for 48 points in Game 4.
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