Kidd's fadeaway shot gives New Jersey Game 1 victory

Kidd said the game-winner may have been the best shot of his career.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Balls bounced off of rims, bodies banged and points were scarce.
Bump and grind prevailed over run and gun, with the New Jersey Nets finding a way to beat the Detroit Pistons at their own game.
But just barely.
Jason Kidd's 20-foot fadeaway with 1.4 seconds remaining took a lap around the rim before falling in to give the Nets a 76-74 victory Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
"We can play pretty basketball when we get up and down the floor, or we can win ugly games," New Jersey coach Byron Scott said. "That's when you have a defensive struggle. We know this series is not going to be a series where there is a lot of up and down, a lot of dunks, a lot of fast breaks, a lot of alley-oops. It's going to be a tough, physical basketball series.
"There's going to be times where it's just ugly basketball."
The Pistons earned the top seed in the conference by using a half-court game, allowing their NBA-leading defense to suffocate opponents.
Second-best record
The Nets had the second-best record in the East because their Kidd-led offense ran past most plodding opponents.
After an initial burst, New Jersey couldn't run and made just 39.7 percent of their shots overall.
But the Pistons shot 35.2 percent and had one too many scoring droughts.
After taking a 63-53 lead with 26.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Pistons didn't score again until Richard Hamilton tied it at 65 with 7:45 to go.
"It's a missed opportunity for us," Detroit coach Rick Carlisle said.
Detroit stays home for Game 2, which is Tuesday night at The Palace.
Dream shot
Kidd missed 13-of-18 attempts before hitting his rainbow from the right corner over 7-footer Mehmet Okur.
"You just dream about those situations as a kid," he said.
Kidd, who couldn't remember the last time he made a game-winner, was asked if it was the biggest shot of his eight-year career.
"Yeah, why not?" he said, shrugging his shoulders.
The Pistons had a chance to tie, or win it with a 3-pointer.
Tayshaun Prince's lobbed inbounds pass was tipped toward the basket by Okur, who grabbed the rebound and missed the putback.
"We got a clean look at a tip and that's about as much as you can ask for," Carlisle said. "It's just unfortunate we weren't able to finish it."
Kenyon Martin led New Jersey with 16 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Kidd had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Richard Jefferson added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Hamilton scored 24 points for the Pistons. Okur prevented an early rout with 12 first-half points. Chauncey Billups had 11 and appeared healthy after being slowed by a sprained left ankle. Ben Wallace had six points and 22 rebounds, including a team-playoff record 13 in the final quarter.
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