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Heat-Nets: 56k | 300k |
Martin was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the first time Tuesday and responded by making 10-of-16 shots and grabbing 13 rebounds. He took over in the third period as New Jersey continued Frank's impressive start with their season-high sixth straight win.
Miami's Lamar Odom, who deserves consideration for an All-Star spot, scored 17 points in the first half and outplayed Martin, who managed just six points. But Martin bounced back after halftime, helping to get Odom in foul trouble with physical inside play.
"He just happens to have that (All-Star) spot and he deserved it," Odom said. "Tonight you saw why he's on that team. I don't get caught up in all that. He played tough tonight."
Martin made 5-of-6 shots in the third quarter, collecting 10 points and two assists during a decisive 16-4 run. He had a layup, two dunks, a hook shot and a pair of free throws in a 3:15 span during the spurt, which gave the Nets a 62-45 cushion just 5:22 into the second half.
"I made something happen for myself and for my teammates," Martin said. "I was just trying to be aggressive and help my team."
"(Martin) was the game for them," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Especially when Lamar got into foul trouble. When we fronted him early in the game, they threw the ball up over the top to the rim. Then we tried to play him 1-on-1 in the post and we didn't have anyone that could do that. He had a great game."
All-Star Jason Kidd added eight points in the third quarter and finished with 18 and 11 rebounds for New Jersey, which has won by an average of more than 14 points per game since Frank took over for Byron Scott.
Richard Jefferson scored 21 points and Aaron Williams added 11 of the bench for the Nets, who scored 56 points in the paint and 20 on the fast break.
"It's another game where we significantly outscored the opponent in the paint," Frank said. "Any time we can work inside out, we are going to have good success."
Odom finished with 27 points and nine assists and Eddie Jones scored 15 points as Miami lost its fifth consecutive visit to Continental Airlines Arena.
The Heat were frustrated by the Nets' physical play and were given four technical fouls and one flagrant foul -- when Malik Allen committed a hard foul on Kidd late in the third quarter.
"They really pounded us inside and on the glass," Van Gundy said. "It was a frustrating night. The only real positive other than Lamar's performance was that the game would have been easy to let go because of all the frustration, but we stayed close."
