New Jersey Nets Team Report - January 22

(Basketball News) - The New Jersey Nets lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 99-76, on Wednesday at the SBC Center.

The Nets were led by a season-high 30 points from Kerry Kittles, but he scored just six after halftime. Jason Kidd added 21 points for New Jersey, which has lost four straight and five of six.

Nets forward Kenyon Martin was just 3-of-12 from the floor for seven points.

New Jersey has dropped five of its last six in San Antonio and is just 4-28 there all-time. The Nets were making their first appearance in San Antonio since falling to the Spurs in six games in last season’s NBA Finals.

Manu Ginobili’s six points led a 7-0 spurt that saw the Spurs grab a 78-64 lead just two minutes into the fourth. Kidd’s three-pointer and a Kittles bucket momentarily stopped the bleeding for New Jersey, but San Antonio ripped off seven straight points after that to take an 85-69 advantage.

The Nets never threatened after that, and the Spurs went ahead by as many as 20 points when they led 93-73 with 3:41 remaining.

Bruce Ratner, a Brooklyn developer, finalized an agreement Wednesday to buy the Nets. Edwin Stier, president of Community Youth Organization, which owns the Nets, said the board of YankeeNets, the holding company of the Nets and New York Yankees, must now approve the contract.

New Jersey is off until Friday when it visits the Miami Heat.