AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—Vince Carter’s career has been built on his flashy offensive skills.
But for one crucial moment Sunday night, it was Carter’s defensive ability that stole the show.
Carter scored 22 points, then had a game-saving steal as the New Jersey Nets won their eighth straight game, beating the Detroit Pistons 79-74.
With 2.1 seconds to play and the Nets up 77-74, Carter deflected Ben Wallace’s inbounds pass, then leaped over the baseline to save the ball and clinch the win.
“I used to block field goals in junior high, so I just pulled out that technique,” Carter said with a grin. “In a situation like that, you always want to get a hand on the ball, but mainly you just want to disrupt the pass however you can.”
The Nets didn’t want to give the Pistons another chance, still remembering Chauncey Billups’ halfcourt buzzer-beater that forced a memorable triple-overtime game in the 2004 playoffs.
“I know that Game 5 made a lasting impression on me,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “Vince must have been a high-jump champion somewhere, because that was an amazing play.”
The loss ruined Detroit’s chance to go a calendar year without a regular-season home loss in regulation—the last one had been a 95-88 defeat to Dallas on March 28, 2005.
“This is a game we had chances to win,” Billups said. “I thought our defense was really good tonight. When the defense is bad, I’m concerned. When our offense just isn’t making shots—that happens.”
The Nets broke a 56-all tie by scoring the first five points of the fourth period, and took a 69-61 lead on former Piston Cliff Robinson’s 3-pointer with 6:45 to go.
Billups didn’t score in the first 43 minutes of the game, but had seven points in a 60-second stretch to pull Detroit within 74-70 with 3:49 to go.
“We didn’t care that Chauncey hadn’t scored,” Carter said. “We know that it doesn’t matter if he has no points or 30 points, he can take over any game at the end.”
Neither team could score until Richard Hamilton’s layup made it a two-point game with 2:04 left. After both teams missed multiple shots, the Pistons called timeout with 15 seconds left.
Billups’ shot went in-and-out, but Carter could only split his free throws, giving the Pistons a chance to tie.
“It felt good—it was halfway down and it came out,” Billups said. “That’s to be expected when the night is going like that.”
Kidd fouled Billups, who made both shots to make it 75-74 with 3.2 seconds left. Kidd then hit two free throws at the other end, and Carter finished it off with his steal.
“This is another win on the road against a high-quality opponent,” Frank said.
Nenad Krstic added 16 points for the Nets, while Hamilton led Detroit with 19.
The Nets’ defense dominated the first quarter, as the Pistons scored a season-low 10 points on 5-of-24 shooting. New Jersey led by 13 at period’s end, but the margin was down to 38-35 at the half.
“They came out extremely aggressive and we, for the second game in a row, didn’t come out sharp,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “I’ve always said that whichever team is most aggressive usually has success.”
Detroit took its first lead of the game at 43-42 four minutes into the third, and the teams were tied at the end of the quarter.
Notes
Detroit’s previous two losses at home this season—to Washington and Utah—had both come in overtime. … Billups hit his 1,000th career 3-pointer with 3:49 left. … The Nets snapped a seven-game losing streak at the Palace. … Antonio McDyess had 18 rebounds, his most since the 2000-01 season.
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