Yi Jianlian Succeeds In Nets Loss to Miami

Yi Jianlian and the Nets traveled to Miami this past Monday.

The Nets and Heat were fairly evenly matched all night, until the third quarter came, in which the Nets began to pull away with some solid contributions from veterans Jarvis Hayes, Bobby Simmons, and combo guard Keyon Dooling.

However, the true star for the Nets was the second year big man from China, Yi Jianlian. In the third, Yi presented his brand new long range game by dropping three triples in a three-and-a-half minute span. He looked like the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki. In addition to his sharp shooting, Yi rebounded and boxed out hard all night.

His final line was 24 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, leading the team in all three categories.

At one point in the third, the Nets clung to a 12 point lead, and showed no signs of letting up. Unfortunately for the Nets, basketball is a game of runs. By the end of the third quarter, the lead had diminished to seven.

This game was defined by the final six minutes. With the Nets up 83-73 and 5:48 remaining, Dwyane Wade came alive, netting 14 points en route to the Heat taking the lead with 1:07 to play.

The Heat would hold onto that lead with solid free throw shooting from Chris Quinn and excellent defense, forcing Vince Carter to travel late in the game.

The Heat didn't just outplay the Nets, they outcoached the Nets.

Erik Spoelstra seems to be one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the NBA. Last night, with about three minutes to play and the Heat trailing, Spoelstra ordered a foul on the Nets worst free throw shooter, Josh Boone.

The Nets have a long year ahead of them, especially if Boone fails to make 30 percent of his free throws. Those are free points and the Nets will struggle to win without them.

In the end, the Nets now know what must be done at the end of close games.

Boone, as talented of a rebounder and defensive player he is, must be on the bench. Although Josh missed clutch shots last night, the loss is not entirely his fault. The Nets' defense looked sloppy and left Wade wide open way too often.

The Nets take the court tomorrow night at the Izod Center against the Indiana Pacers.

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