Jefferson didn't like sitting in fourth quarter

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Richard Jefferson wanted the ball in his hands when the game was close.

The New Jersey small forward stepped to the free throw line with 48 seconds left in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals in Detroit on Tuesday night and hit two free throws to give the Nets an 88-86 win and a 2-0 lead in the series.

What bothered Jefferson a little, though, was sitting on the bench most of the fourth quarter with foul problems while the Nets rallied from a double-digit deficit. The second-year player, considered part of the team's Big Three along with Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, felt he should have been on the court instead of watching.

"The only way for me to get better is to allow me to go through the growing pains, to allow me to learn and play and fight through it," Jefferson said Wednesday before the Nets practiced for Game 3 here on Thursday night.

"If you want me to be one of your Big Three, you need me to be on the floor and you need me to play well in order for me to be successful, then sometimes you are going to have to take a risk and leave me on the floor."

Nets coach Byron Scott said his decision to keep Jefferson on the bench was based on the way the five guys on the floor were playing. Martin led the rally by scoring 16 of his 25 points. Scott also said backup forward Rodney Rogers was playing well during the comeback.

"We were down nine to start the quarter, and within three or four minutes it was a one- or two-point game," Scott said. "I knew Richard was over there getting a little cold, but I thought when I brought him back in, it was a perfect time."

The coach also denied Jefferson's contention that Martin has been allowed to stay in games when he was in foul trouble. Scott noted that Martin sat on the bench when he had foul problems during his first two years in the league.

"Richard will get to the point where I think he is a little more mature and I think he can handle it," Scott said. "It has nothing to do with Richard. Kenyon, I knew maturity-wise, he can hang in there."

Jefferson said his biggest concern was going back into the game cold. But he overcame the problem by getting the Pistons' Corliss Williamson up in the air with a pump fake and making his free throws when he got fouled.

"When you sit on the bench that long and it's four minutes to go and you hear, 'Richard, go make a play,"' it's hard to go in there and affect the game," said Jefferson, who scored nine points. "That's a tough situation to be put in. I know they have confidence in me. This is being allowed to grow and to learn from your mistakes."