Tue, Jun 17, 2003 page20

• Spurs take it all the way

  GAME 6 Compared to the Nets that were swept by the Lakers last season, this team seemed to have a real shot at the title, but it was the big man that killed them again

  • AP
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  Jason Kidd's legacy with the New Jersey Nets may be limited to getting them to the NBA Finals.

  Kidd and the Nets saw their dream of winning their first NBA title thwarted by a big man from the West for the second straight year as Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs to an 88-77 win in Game 6 on Sunday night.

  

  Series MVP Tim Duncan, left, and David Robinsonof the San Antonio Spurs hold-up the MVP Trophy, left, and the Larry O'Brian Championship trophy after beating the New Jersey Nets in game six of the NBA Finals at SBC Center in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs won the game 88-77 to win the best-of-seven game series 4-2.

  PHOTO: AFP

  "It's always tough when you lose, especially at this stage in the season, because this is the one thing and one thing only that's the championship trophy," said Kidd, who sat alone at the podium after the game, his son, T.J. not next to him on this disappointing Father's Day.

  "For us to fall short, it hurts, just like last year it hurt. But we lost to the better team," Kidd said.

  Compared to the team that got swept by Shaquille O'Neal and the three-peat Lakers last season, this Nets team seemed oh-so-close to a title.

  They were right there in the crucial Game 5 in New Jersey despite having an ill Kenyon Martin in the lineup, and they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead Sunday, buried under a 19-0 run led by former teammate Stephen Jackson and a dismal 6-for-25 shooting performance in the final 12 minutes.

  If anything cost the Nets a title this year besides the opposing big man, it was their shooting. They shot 37 percent from the field in the series and never got their running game going.

  Now the question mark is the future.

  Kidd, who transformed the Nets from an also-ran into the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions after coming in a trade with Phoenix, will become a free agent on July 1. He had 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds in what might have been his final game as a Net.

  "Whether he stays or goes, I wish him the best," said Nets second-year forward Richard Jefferson, who had 13 points and provided a ton of energy early. "I want what is best for him and his family. If he choses to stay in New Jersey, he stays in New Jersey. If he goes someplace else, how can you fault the man?"

  Kidd said it will take some time before he decides his future. The crucial factor may very well be winning a title, something that has eluded him for nine NBA seasons.

  "That's what I play this game for," said Kidd, who was 8-for-20 from the field in the final game.

  There was a certain sense of irony as Kidd walked off the court almost unnoticed with about 35 seconds to play. The crowd at the SBC Center was roaring wildly, but it was for Duncan, who also left the court at the same time.

  The team that has the money to sign Kidd is the Spurs. About a minute after the final buzzer, and with confetti falling, Kidd and Duncan embraced on the court and seemed to whisper to each other. It would have been interesting to hear the brief conversation.

  If Kidd leaves, the Nets will have a major hole at point guard, where they had the best player in the league at that position the last two years.

  If Kidd stays, there are other areas to be addressed, as was shown in this series repeatedly by San Antonio's overall defense and its zone.

  "I think everybody knows how important he is," Scott said. "You know, he's the engine to this team. He makes us go."

  The Nets were 26-56 the year before Kidd arrived in a trade for Stephon Marbury. They were 101-63 in the two regular seasons that led to conference championships.

  Kidd wouldn't guarantee a return to New Jersey.

  "I can't, I can't," he said. "I've got to play free agency out and I've got to look at all of my options."

  Playing with Martin again would be appealing. The Nets power forward is emerging as a dominant player despite finishing this series with two horrible games.

  Martin had six points on 3-for-23 shooting Sunday, and 10 points in the last two games after averaging nearly 20 for the playoffs.

  "I just played horrible, man, and I'll have all summer to think about it," Martin said.

  "I didn't show up when it counted. It's more frustrating than anything, knowing I didn't bring one in when we needed it."

  The flulike illness in Game 5 probably had a lot to do with that.

  "He just had a bad game," Scott said. "He just couldn't throw it into the ocean tonight."

  Kerry Kittles did an adequate job in Game 6, shooting 5-for-12 and scoring 16 points, but the Nets got little else from their bench as Lucious Harris and Rodney Rogers again were ineffective.
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