2001–02 New Jersey Nets season

2001–02 New Jersey Nets season
Conference Champions
Division Champions
Jason Kidd's first season with the Nets
Head coach	Byron Scott
Owner(s)	Yankee Global Enterprises LLC
Arena	Continental Airlines Arena
Results
Record	52–30 (.634)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Lost to Lakers 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Net New York, WLNY
Radio	WFAN

The 2001–02 season saw the Nets finishing first in the Eastern Conference with 52 win and 30 losses, their best record since joining the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. As of 2016, this was the only season where the Nets won 50 or more games.

In the offseason, the Nets acquired All-Star point guard Jason Kidd from the Phoenix Suns.^[1] Kidd was credited for most of turn-around—the Nets had finished 26–56 the previous year—and finished second to the Spurs' Tim Duncan in MVP voting,^[2] and was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game.

Under Kidd's guidance, the young Nets team prospered through the playoffs and ended up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference title and the franchise's first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals. In the first round, they defeated the Indiana Pacers then defeated the Charlotte Hornets in the semifinals. They then defeated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, New Jersey's season would end without an improbable NBA crown, as Kidd and the Nets were swept in four games by the Los Angeles Lakers. Following the season, Keith Van Horn was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	7	Eddie Griffin	Forward	United States	Seton Hall
2	35	Brian Scalabrine	Forward	United States	USC

Roster

New Jersey Nets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 1 Armstrong, Brandon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Pepperdine C 35 Collins, Jason 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Stanford G 12 Harris, Lucious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Long Beach State F 24 Jefferson, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Arizona G 8 Johnson, Anthony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) College of Charleston G 5 Kidd, Jason 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) UC Berkeley G 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova C 11 MacCulloch, Todd 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Washington F 13 Marshall, Donny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Connecticut F 6 Martin, Kenyon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Cincinnati F 21 Scalabrine, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) Southern California F 44 Van Horn, Keith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Utah F/C 34 Williams, Aaron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Xavier	Head coach Byron Scott Assistant coach(es) Eddie Jordan Lawrence Frank Mike O’Koren Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2002–01–07

Depth Chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Todd MacCulloch	Jason Collins
PF	Kenyon Martin	Aaron Williams	Brian Scalabrine
SF	Keith Van Horn	Richard Jefferson	Donny Marshall
SG	Kerry Kittles	Lucious Harris
PG	Jason Kidd	Anthony Johnson		Brandon Armstrong

Regular season

Standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New Jersey Nets	52	30	.634	–	33–8	19–22	16–8
x-Boston Celtics	49	33	.598	3	27–14	22–19	17–7
x-Orlando Magic	44	38	.537	8	27–14	17–24	12–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers	43	39	.524	9	22–19	21–20	14–11
Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	15	22–19	15–26	12–13
Miami Heat	36	46	.439	16	18–23	18–23	10–14
New York Knicks	30	52	.366	22	19–22	11–30	4–20

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-New Jersey Nets	52	30	.634	–
2	y- Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	2
3	x-Boston Celtics	49	33	.598	3
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	44	38	.537	8
5	x-Orlando Magic	44	38	.537	8
6	x- Philadelphia 76ers	43	39	.524	9
7	x-Toronto Raptors	42	40	.512	10
8	x-Indiana Pacers	42	40	.512	10
9	Milwaukee Bucks	41	41	.500	11
10	Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	15
11	Miami Heat	36	46	.439	16
12	Atlanta Hawks	33	49	.402	19
13	New York Knicks	30	52	.366	22
14	Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	23
15	Chicago Bulls	21	61	.256	31

Record vs. opponents

2001-02 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–3
Boston	2–2	—	2–1	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	1–2	—	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1
Chicago	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	0–3	1–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–3
Cleveland	1–3	0–4	1–3	3–1	—	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–2
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	—	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	—	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–3	0–2
Detroit	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	2–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	—	1–3	0–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–1
Houston	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–1
Indiana	3–1	0–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	1–3	2–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	—	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–4	1–1
L.A. Lakers	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–1	—	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–0
Memphis	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	3–1	0–2
Miami	1–3	1–3	0–3	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	0–2	2–2
Milwaukee	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	—	0–2	1–2	1–3	2–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	2–0	3–1
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	2–0
New Jersey	1–2	1–3	3–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	—	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1
New York	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	0–2	0–4	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–3
Orlando	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	—	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–2
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	—	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	2–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–2
Portland	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	—	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–3	2–0
Sacramento	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–0
Seattle	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–0	1–3	1–1
Toronto	4–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–2
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–1	—	2–0
Washington	3–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	—

Game log

2001–02 game log Total: 52–30 (Home: 33–8; Road: 19–22)
October: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 30 Indiana W 103–97 Keith Van Horn (26) Jason Kidd (10) Jason Kidd (9) Continental Airlines Arena 8,749 1–0 2 October 31 @ Boston W 95–92 Jason Kidd (21) Todd MacCulloch (12) Jason Kidd (10) FleetCenter 14,158 2–0
November : 8–5 (Home: 5–1; Road: 3–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 November 2 @ Detroit L 88–102 Richard Jefferson (17) Kidd & Williams (6) Jason Kidd (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 2–1 4 November 3 Charlotte W 95–85 Keith Van Horn (28) Keith Van Horn (9) Jason Kidd (8) Continental Airlines Arena 6,532 3–1 5 November 8 Seattle W 106–94 Todd MacCulloch (29) Keith Van Horn (12) Jason Kidd (13) Continental Airlines Arena 5,277 4–1 6 November 10 Cleveland W 87–84 Kenyon Martin (18) MacCulloch & Van Horn (10) Three players (4) Continental Airlines Arena 5,631 5–1 7 November 13 @ Indiana W 91–82 Jason Kidd (20) Keith Van Horn (13) Jason Kidd (10) Conseco Fieldhouse 15,188 6–1 8 November 16 New York W 109–83 Kenyon Martin (21) Kenyon Martin (8) Jason Kidd (15) Continental Airlines Arena 15,638 7–1 9 November 17 Philadelphia L 82–94 Kenyon Martin (16) Kidd & MacCulloch (9) Jason Kidd (12) Continental Airlines Arena 17,318 7–2 10 November 19 @ Denver L 96–99 (OT) Kenyon Martin (28) Richard Jefferson (8) Jason Kidd (13) Continental Airlines Arena 11,319 7–3 11 November 21 @ Utah W 90–89 (OT) Jason Kidd (18) Todd MacCulloch (11) Jason Kidd (6) Delta Center 17,413 8–3
December : 9–5 (Home: 4–2; Road: 5–3) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January : 11–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 4–3) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February : 8–4 (Home: 6–2; Road: 2–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break
March : 9–9 (Home: 7–0; Road: 2–9) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April : 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–1) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 80 April 14 @ Toronto L 82–101 Collins & Scalabrine (16) Brian Scalabrine (9) Anthony Johnson (5) Air Canada Centre 19,800 51–29 81 April 16 Detroit L 98–103 Kerry Kittles (30) Aaron Williams (8) Jason Kidd (7) Continental Airlines Arena 15,084 51–30 82 April 17 @ New York W 99–94 Four players (13) Keith Van Horn (8) Jason Kidd (5) Madison Square Garden 19,763 52–30
2001–02 season schedule

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) New Jersey Nets vs. (8) Indiana Pacers Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Nets and Pacers.

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (NJN-IND)	Venue	TV	Time (EST)	Recap
1	April 20	Indiana	89	New Jersey	83	0-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	NBC	12:30	Recap
2	April 22	Indiana	79	New Jersey	95	1-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT	7:00	Recap
3	April 26	New Jersey	85	Indiana	84	2-1	Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	TNT	8:30	Recap
4	April 30	New Jersey	74	Indiana	98	2-2	Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	TNT	7:00	Recap
5**	May 2	Indiana	109	New Jersey	120	3-2	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT	7:00	Recap
New Jersey wins series 3–2

Conference Semifinals

(1) New Jersey Nets vs. (4) Charlotte Hornets Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Nets and Hornets.

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (NJN-CHA)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 5	Charlotte	93	New Jersey	99	1-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	NBC 12:30et	Recap
2	May 7	Charlotte	88	New Jersey	102	2-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TBS 8:00et	Recap
3	May 9	New Jersey	97	Charlotte	115	2-1	Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte	TNT 7:00et	Recap
4	May 12	New Jersey	89	Charlotte	79	3-1	Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte	NBC 12:30et	Recap
5	May 15	Charlotte	95	New Jersey	103	4-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT 8:00et	Recap
New Jersey wins series 4–1

Conference Finals

(1) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Boston Celtics Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Nets and Celtics.

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (NJN-BOS)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 19	Boston	97	New Jersey	104	1-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	NBC 5:30et	Recap
2	May 21	Boston	93	New Jersey	86	1-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT 8:00et	Recap
3	May 25	New Jersey	90	Boston	94	1-2	FleetCenter, Boston	NBC 5:30et	Recap
4	May 27	New Jersey	94	Boston	92	2-2	FleetCenter, Boston	NBC 5:30et	Recap
5	May 29	Boston	92	New Jersey	103	3-2	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	NBC 9:00et	Recap
6	May 31	New Jersey	96	Boston	88	4-2	FleetCenter, Boston	NBC 7:00et	Recap
New Jersey wins Eastern Conference Championship series 4–2

NBA Finals

Summary

The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Wins
Los Angeles (West)	99	106	106	113	4
New Jersey (East)	94	83	103	107	0

Aspects

Amid tensions between co-captains Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in the Pacific Division and earning the third seed in the Western Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won the game MVP trophy in his hometown Philadelphia.^[3] The duo appeared on the All-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with a NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection.^[4][5]

Entering the 2001–02 season, the New Jersey Nets were enduring a three-year playoff drought and had a 73–141 record over that span. In 1999, the Nets hired Rod Thorn as team president and immediately, he hired the recently retired Byron Scott to coach New Jersey. Thorn then dealt for Stephon Marbury in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, trading Sam Cassell away to the Bucks.^[6] Due to the Nets' 31–51 season in 1999–00 season, they had the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, which they used to select power forward Kenyon Martin out of the University of Cincinnati.^[7] Despite the reshuffling of the roster and a Rookie of the Year season for Martin, New Jersey struggled, ending the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and were bestowed the 7th pick in the upcoming Draft.

With another lottery pick, Thorn dealt it to the Houston Rockets for draftees Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong.^[6] The next day, Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guard Jason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury.^[8]

With the Princeton offense installed from the coaching staff,^[9] the Nets rebounded to a 52–30 (.634) mark, a twenty-six-win improvement from the last season, and clinched the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both the All-NBA^[4] and All-Defensive Teams^[5] and was selected for his fifth All-Star game. He also finished runner-up to San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan in the Most Valuable Player voting.^[10] Richard Jefferson was an NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awarded NBA Executive of the Year.^[11]

Game One

Wednesday, June 5, 2002, 6:00 at the Staples Center.

Los Angeles's Staples Center sold out for the inaugural game of the 2002 NBA Finals, with nearly 19,000 on hand. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloth to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. The Lakers brought out Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, and Kobe Bryant, who drew the assignment of guarding Kidd. New Jersey head coach Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime Lakers, received a standing ovation.

Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42-19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17–6 to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloth into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third.

" You can't dig yourself a hole, get down by 19 or 20 points and expect to win. We just dug ourselves a hole against the champions. "

—Lucious Harris, Sports Illustrated^[12]

New Jersey battled back, coming as close as three several times in the final quarter. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5–8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone.

New Jersey was doomed by their late start and poor shooting. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively.^[13] Kidd finished with a triple–double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series.

Recap

Team	1st Qt.	2nd Qt.	3rd Qt.	4th Qt.	Total
New Jersey	14	22	27	31	91
Los Angeles	29	19	24	27	99

Game Two

Friday, June 7, 2002, 6:00 at the Staples Center.

The second game was more of a statement as the Lakers clobbered the Nets by a score of 106-83 thanks to Shaquille O'Neal's 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Recap

Team	1st Qt.	2nd Qt.	3rd Qt.	4th Qt.	Total
New Jersey	21	22	18	22	83
Los Angeles	27	22	28	29	106

Game Three

Sunday, June 9, 2002, 8:30 at the Continental Airlines Arena.

Game Three would prove to a hard fought game (much like the first game of the series) as the Lakers and Nets would trade leads throughout the game but thanks to Kobe Bryant's 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks the Lakers prevail by a score of 106-103 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Recap

Team	1st Qt.	2nd Qt.	3rd Qt.	4th Qt.	Total
Los Angeles	31	21	26	28	106
New Jersey	23	23	32	25	103

Game Four

Wednesday, June 12, 2002, 9:00 at the Continental Airlines Arena.

Despite this being a hard fought battle (much like the previous game and as well as the first game of the series) the Lakers still won game four and the championship, giving Phil Jackson his Red Auerbach-tying ninth title and the Lakers their third consecutive title (and fourteenth overall) making them the fifth team to win three consecutive titles and denying the Nets their first ever championship since the franchise moved to East Rutherford.

Recap

Team	1st Qt.	2nd Qt.	3rd Qt.	4th Qt.	Total
Los Angeles	27	31	26	29	113
New Jersey	34	23	23	27	107

Player stats

Regular season

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Armstrong, BrandonBrandon Armstrong	35	0	5.6	.318	.294	.500	0.5	0.2	0.2	0.0	1.8
Collins, JasonJason Collins	77	9	18.3	.421	.500	.701	3.9	1.1	0.4	0.6	4.5
Dial, DerrickDerrick Dial	25	0	10.0	.319	.000	.722	1.8	1.2	0.3	0.2	2.9
Goodrich, SteveSteve Goodrich	9	0	5.6	.200	.000	.500	0.6	0.6	0.1	0.2	0.6
Harris, LuciousLucious Harris	74	0	21.0	.464	.373	.842	2.8	1.6	0.7	0.1	9.1
Jefferson, RichardRichard Jefferson	79	9	24.3	.457	.232	.713	3.7	1.8	0.8	0.6	9.4
Johnson, AnthonyAnthony Johnson	34	0	10.8	.411	.333	.640	0.9	1.4	0.9	0.0	2.8
Kidd, JasonJason Kidd	82	82	37.3	.391	.321	.814	7.3	9.9	2.1	0.2	14.7
Kittles, KerryKerry Kittles	82	82	31.7	.466	.405	.744	3.4	2.6	1.6	0.4	13.4
MacCulloch, ToddTodd MacCulloch	62	61	24.2	.531	.000	.671	6.1	1.3	0.4	1.4	9.7
Marshall, DonnyDonny Marshall	20	0	5.9	.276	.500	.667	1.1	0.3	0.2	0.0	1.5
Martin, KenyonKenyon Martin	73	73	34.3	.463	.224	.678	5.3	2.6	1.2	1.7	14.9
Scalabrine, BrianBrian Scalabrine	28	0	10.4	.343	.300	.733	1.8	0.8	0.3	0.1	2.1
Slater, ReggieReggie Slater	4	0	2.5	1.000	.000	1.000	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3
Van Horn, KeithKeith Van Horn	81	81	30.4	.433	.345	.800	7.5	2.0	0.8	0.5	14.8
Williams, AaronAaron Williams	82	13	18.9	.526	.000	.699	4.1	0.9	0.4	0.9	7.2

Postseason

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

• Rod Thorn, NBA Executive of the Year
• Jason Kidd, All-NBA First Team
• Jason Kidd, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Richard Jefferson, NBA All-Rookie Team Second Team

References

1. "Nets' Shake-Up Ships Marbury for Suns' Kidd". New York Times. June 29, 2001.
2. "Kidd Loses M.V.P. To Duncan, Officials Say". New York Times. May 7, 2002.
3. West Wins! Kobe Stakes Claim in All-Star Lore NBA.com
4. Bryant, McGrady are first-time All-NBA selections, USA Today
5. Payton ties mark with ninth All-Defensive slot USA Today
6. Nets Trade History NBA.com/nets
7. Holding to form: Nets take Martin with first pick SportsIllustrated.com
8. Kidd, Marbury primary players in trade, USA Today
9. Liz Robbins (2002-02-02). "PRO BASKETBALL; Nets Get a New Read From the Old School". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
10. It's official: Duncan captures MVP award USA Today. Retrieved December 28, 2008
11. Title goes to one sharp Thorn: Nets GM honored as wheeler-deeler, New York Daily-News. Accessed 2009-04-14. Archived 2009-05-14.
12. Nets' slow start costs them dearly in Game 1
13. "Nets' slow start costs them dearly in Game 1". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 2002-06-06. Retrieved 2009-05-16.

• New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference