:
--F Jarvis Hayes could have done a real-life commercial about rushing through airports. After receiving a call Saturday at 6:15 from his wife who went into labor in Atlanta, Hayes left the team in Minnesota. He had just over an hour to catch his flight. "I had to catch a 7:20 flight for Atlanta, which I barely made. I got to Atlanta about 10:30-11. Got to the hospital at 11:30," said Hayes, who insisted "all the stars were aligned" enabling him to be there for the birth of Jarvis James Hayes II. "When I got to the airport, there was nobody on line, nobody at the security line. I went right through. All the stars were aligned. I got out of the cab at 7:05 and I was on my seat at like 7:10, 7:09. They checked me at security. I took off my shoes and everything."
--With eight games remaining and the playoffs appearing a virtual impossibility, the Nets find themselves fending off questions about them quitting on the season.
"I don't really believe it is the case at all," said Vince Carter.
"If I was on the outside looking in, I would say it looks like the team has given up, too," Devin Harris assessed. "But coming from inside the locker room, I know the type of personalities we have. That's not the case."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I apologize to our fans and people who came to support us. That was totally a non-competitive effort." -- Coach Lawrence Frank after the Nets were walloped by 29 points by Milwaukee for a second straight lackluster effort.
