Nets Don’t Let It Slip Away

BOSTON — Jason Kidd grabbed his jersey, raised his head and bellowed, a loud, long, piercing, cleansing scream. The scream was a way of releasing tension, anger, frustration and, most of all, joy.

Kidd pointed to the silent crowd at the FleetCenter and yelled, “You choked, you choked.” It was not the dignified thing to do, but this same crowd had chanted personal insults at Kidd. And for the previous 48 hours all Kidd heard was how his New Jersey Nets were so over, so finished after blowing a 26-point third-quarter lead here Saturday in a loss to the Celtics.

So forgive Kidd his noisy exuberance.

After making embarrassing history Saturday, New Jersey earned a most improbable victory Monday, 94-92 over the Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. The best-of-seven series, tied 2-2, will resume Wednesday at Continental Airlines Arena.

“You want to win with grace and dignity,” said Kidd, who finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, “but sometimes you’re tired of coming into a building and having to tip your hat, especially when you’re supposed to be on Route 93, going home because we are not even supposed to be in this series, this series is over. So I was tired of being humbled.”

Lucious Harris, a backup who had left Long Beach State as its all-time leading scorer in 1993, made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left to break a 92-92 tie.

And Harris did what Boston All-Star Paul Pierce could not do. Like Harris, Pierce took the basketball and drove. Like Harris, Pierce got fouled, taking a glancing elbow from Keith Van Horn with 1.1 seconds left. But unlike Harris, Pierce missed his first free throw.

Harris took his shots with all the noise and epithets and insults and airless gravity that Celtic fans could give him. Pierce shot in churchlike silence.

After Pierce missed his first free throw, he was forced to miss the second. The rebound was batted to Celtic center Tony Battie, who had enough time to rise, cock his wrist and get a good look at the basket.

“I thought,” Harris said, “we were going to overtime.”

But Battie’s shot bounced off the rim and the Nets bounced off each other, their spirits rehabilitated and their minds freed of Saturday’s debacle.

New Jersey’s stars were the quiet duo of guard Kerry Kittles and forward Keith Van Horn. Kittles, who had missed 17 consecutive three-point shots, made four, including the game’s first basket.

“I was long overdue for a three-pointer. I wanted my first shot to be a three-pointer to prove to myself I could make a three-point shot,” said Kittles, who had a team-high 22 points. “I wanted to go out and be aggressive. I wasn’t going to pass up any opportunity today.”

Van Horn had 21 points and 10 rebounds. And Kidd, besides his steady scoring, rebounding and assist totals, also took three crucial charges in the fourth quarter. Twice Pierce, head down and mind made up, ran smack into Kidd under the Celtic basket. Rodney Rogers did it the other time.

And yet with all that, the Nets almost let the Celtics cut their hearts out again. After trailing, 61-46, early in the third quarter and 67-53 with 5:29 left in the period, Boston casually galloped through a 13-2 run to make it 69-66 with 52.3 seconds left. Since the Nets had led the Celtics by 21 at the end of the third quarter Saturday, Boston seemed in perfect shape.

New Jersey staggered back to lead, 78-70, with 10:07 left. Barely two minutes later, the score was 80-78. Twice more the Nets would lead by six, the final time at 86-80, but Rogers was left alone to make a three-pointer with 3:32 left. No one guarded him because most of the Nets focused on Pierce and Antoine Walker. At one point, those two had scored 31 of Boston’s 34 points. Pierce finished with 31 and Walker with 30, and New Jersey was almost beaten by Rogers and Kenny Anderson.

After his three-pointer, Rogers made a free throw. Anderson made two driving layups in the last two minutes, including one to cut New Jersey’s lead to 92-90. Pierce made two free throws with 17.6 seconds left to tie the score and set up the last, furious, seconds.

“They talk about all the ghosts in this building,” Harris said. “Hey, is the ghost still here?”

Actually, the ghosts had been buried with the old Boston Garden.

The Nets scared up a new one Saturday. They buried it Monday.