Pacers eliminated from playoffs with Game 6 loss

INDIANAPOLIS -- The New Jersey Nets overcame Anthony Johnson's 40-point effort to beat the Indiana Pacers 96-90 on Thursday night and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.\nRichard Jefferson scored 30 points and Vince Carter added 24 for the Nets, who won the best-of-seven series 4-2. Jason Kidd approached a triple-double with eight points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds.\nJermaine O'Neal scored 21 points for the Pacers, who played without Peja Stojakovic for the fourth time in the series because of a sore right knee. The team's second-leading scorer in the regular season, Stojakovic played in Indiana's only two wins in the series.\nThe Nets will play the winner of the Chicago-Miami series in the second round.\nEvery time it looked like New Jersey might pull away, Johnson, a former Net, had an answer. He scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter for Indiana, then Austin Croshere dunked and O'Neal followed with a basket to cut New Jersey's lead to 87-85 with 3:25 left.\nNenad Krstic scored and drew O'Neal's fifth foul with 2:30 left. Krstic converted the three-point play to bump New Jersey's lead to 90-85.\nO'Neal scored again to cut the deficit to 90-87, but Carter blew by him for a layup with 1:07 left, knowing O'Neal wouldn't risk a sixth foul, to give the Nets a 92-87 lead.\nJohnson hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to make it 92-90, and after a miss by Carter, Indiana had a chance to tie. Johnson missed in close and O'Neal got the rebound, but Jefferson blocked his putback.\nNew Jersey worked time off the clock and the Pacers fouled Krstic with 14 seconds left. He made both free throws for a 94-90 lead. Johnson then missed a 3-pointer and Jefferson made two free throws.\nNew Jersey outrebounded the Pacers 44-30.\nThe Pacers shot 61 percent in the first quarter to take a 26-21 lead. Johnson scored 12 points in the period while drawing fouls from both Carter and Kidd on baskets.\nCarter shot 1-for-6 in the first quarter but fueled a second-quarter comeback. He scored the last eight points of the half as New Jersey tied the score 41-all.\nKidd missed all five of his field goal attempts in the first half, several of them badly, while struggling to guard Johnson. Jefferson picked up the slack by scoring 14 points.\nKidd made two 3-pointers early in the third quarter to give New Jersey a 49-45 lead, then Carter and Jefferson combined for 17 points in a 19-11 run that gave the Nets a 68-56 lead.\nDanny Granger hit two 3-pointers late in the quarter to help the Pacers cut New Jersey's lead to 73-69 heading into the final quarter.