Celtics, Nets meet at Meadowlands

Boston has lost five in a row and opens a three-game road trip. On Friday, Shawn Marion scored 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and scored Phoenix’s last four points to ice a 116-111 Suns’ win over the Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden.

Phoenix showed no signs of dead legs less than 24 hours after its marathon 161-157 double overtime win in New Jersey on Thursday night. Steve Nash scored 16 and doled out 14 assists as the Suns ran to their ninth straight victory. Raja Bell and Boris Diaw contributed 14 points each for Phoenix.

Paul Pierce carried the Celtics with 36 points, but only 11 of those came in the second half. Tony Allen and Ryan Gomes both scored 18 in the loss to the Suns for Boston, while Sebastian Telfair scored 14 points in defeat.

The Celtics, who will also visit New York and Philadelphia on the current road trip, are 2-5 on the road this season.

New Jersey hopes to put the brakes on a two-game losing streak, as it plays the fourth of a season-long six-game homestand. On Thursday, Steve Nash scored a career-high 42 points, handed out 13 assists and hit the game-tying three- pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, as the Phoenix Suns outlasted the Nets, 161-157, in double overtime.

Jason Kidd had three chances to win the game for the Nets, but came up short each time on an otherwise career night for the Nets guard, in which he poured in 38 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out 14 assists.

Kidd was joined by six other Nets with double-figures in scoring, including All-Star Vince Carter, who ended with 31 points. Richard Jefferson finished with 25 points, rookie Marcus Williams scored 18, Mikki Moore netted 14, Eddie House contributed 12 and Nenad Krstic added 10 for New Jersey, which is 1-2 on the homestand.

The Nets are 4-6 at home this season. They will host Hakim Warrick and the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday and Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

This is the second meeting of the season between the Celtics and New Jersey. On November 29th, Carter had 23 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Nets to a 106-103 victory over Boston at TD Banknorth Garden.

Boston has lost four straight and seven of its last eight at New Jersey. The Nets have won four in a row and six of the last seven contests in this series.