Nets attempt send Pacers on vacation

The Nets lead this best-of-seven series, 3-2. If the Pacers are victorious tonight, Game 7 is scheduled to be played on Saturday at Continental Airlines Arena.

On Tuesday, Vince Carter had a spectacular all-around game with 34 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists to lift No. 3 New Jersey to a 92-86 victory over the seventh-seeded Pacers at Continental Airlines Arena in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Richard Jefferson totaled 24 points and Nenad Krstic tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds in Game 5’s victory for the Nets, while Jason Kidd dished out 15 assists for New Jersey.

Jermaine O’Neal scored 19 points in the loss for Indiana, which played without Peja Stojakovic (sore right knee), center Jeff Foster (strained back) and guard Jamaal Tinsley (sore right Achilles).

Carter is averaging 30.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in this series for the Nets, while O’Neal has registered team-highs in points (21.0 ppg) and rebounds (7.8 rpg).

New Jersey has lost two straight contests when it has the chance to eliminate its opponent from the postseason, while the Pacers have lost three of their last four contests when facing elimination.

The Nets, who are appearing in the postseason for the fifth straight year, have lost two straight Game 6s in the postseason, while the Pacers, who have reached the playoffs for the ninth straight season, have lost three straight Game 6s in the postseason,

During the regular season, the Pacers won the season-series with the Nets, 2-1. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, New Jersey defeated the Pacers, 3-2, in the first round of the 2001-02 playoffs. The Nets needed a 120-109 double overtime victory in Game 5 to seal the series.