Nets Unfazed by Celtics

The New Jersey Nets wouldn’t mind at all if the Boston Celtics showed up with the same defensive plan for Saturday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

While that may sound silly after New Jersey shot 33% from the field in a 93-86 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday, the Nets scoff at the idea that the Celtics’ defense had much to do with the performance.

“It’s nothing they really did,” Net Coach Byron Scott said Thursday in East Rutherford, N.J.

Scott said that the Celtics clogged the lane, denying the Nets their backdoor cuts and shutting down their transition game.

They made the Nets into a jump-shooting team.

“Teams have done that to us pretty much all season long and we made jump shots,” Scott said. “It’s just a matter of making shots and guys shooting them with confidence.”

The Nets also felt that they helped the Celtics by being too impatient on offense.

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Portland Trail Blazer forward Scottie Pippen had minor surgery on his right knee and is expected to be ready for next season.... Houston Rocket guard Steve Francis will have surgery Thursday to repair the lining of his right shoulder.