Jermaine O?Neal vowed he would play better in Game 3 of the Indiana Pacers series with the Nets, but at the end of the day he had the same figure ?12? next to his name in the scoring column as he did in Game 2 with the result also being identical, an unwanted ?L?.

"There wasn't a whole lot of effort in that game," he said, pointing to the Game 2 box score. "I was very intense and very focused and very aggressive (Friday). I gave myself a chance to get going, but I just couldn't get going."

O?Neal had a chance to send the game to overtime but missed a free throw was 3.6 seconds left, sealing New Jersey?s 85-84 win.

"I wanted this game in a major way," he said. "We were the only game on TV tonight. The world was watching. The series was tied. We were on our home court. And I got an award (for Most Improved Player before the game). That was the perfect scenario for me."