Format the following passage properly, for storytelling purposes. Keep it as written, don't change a single word, but improve grammar where necessary.

Did they dare risk their odds of a long 'reign' on their home court, taking down team after team, by giving the Lakers a rematch in East Rutherford after narrowly beating them on the road at the Forum? As it turns out, the answer for the New Jersey Nets--and their leader, the talented Derrick Coleman--was 'yes.' Having initially made plans to take on the Miami Heat, they opted to see if they could take another game off the Lakers, having held on for a one-point victory after leading by fifteen with seven minutes remaining in the fourth period of their initial encounter. It took little time for Coleman and friends to realize they had potentially made a grave mistake, as the Lakers opened up the scoring with six unanswered points. A bad omen of things to come, as when the final whistle sounded, the Lakers had utterly crushed the Nets in front of a stunned, speechless crowd at the Brendan Byrne Arena, taking it by a score of 132-106. Los Angeles got to 100 points first, with a smooth two-point shot from James Worthy (who finished with 46 points, the most of any Laker) putting them up 100-85 with 10:34 left in the fourth period. Incredibly, despite his vintage performance--one recalling happier times, when he won three championships in the Lakers' "Showtime" era in the 1980s--it was not Worthy who was named "Player of the Game," but teammate Elden Campbell, who finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 9 blocks, and 3 assists. If he had recorded just one more block, he would have had a triple-double; all the more reason for him to be named game MVP. Vlade Divac contributed admirably himself, with 16 rebounds and 14 assists. Five different Nets contributed in equal and beautiful measure, from a teamwork standpoint, to their losing effort. Derrick Coleman finished with 34 points, just as he had in the Nets' prior game against the Lakers. Chris Morris contributed 22 points, while Rick Mahorn added 11 rebounds and Benoit Benjamin (a former Laker) finished with 12 assists. P.J. Brown finished with four blocks; the score line testifies quite sufficiently to their blocking woes. The "Hustle Board" was quite lopsided in favor of the Lakers, as they led in all three major defense categories: blocked shots (23-17), rebounds (64-46), and steals (26-21). For a bit of a break from the norm, the Lakers took a breather as the East and West All-Stars met in Minneapolis (which is where the actual 1994 All-Star Game took place; interestingly, despite the game taking place on the Timberwolves' home court, not a single Timberwolves player made it to the West All-Star roster...not even former Duke star [and 1992 "Dream Team" backup] Christian Laettner, who was in his second season with the team). In a game that got off to a slow and defensive start, but soon graduated to a firefight in every sense of the word, it was the West All-Stars who took it by a final score of 133-120, with a good chunk of those points coming in a truly dynamite 4th period. Neither team reached 100 points until that 4th period, when eventual "Player of the Game" Karl Malone (who finished with 39 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists) came down with a bonafide 'monster slam' to put the West up 100-86 with 11:54 left. The "Hustle Board," as you would expect for an all-star game, had both teams dead even in terms of defensive proficiency, in a 99-99 'dead heat.' While the East All-Stars led in blocked shots (28-25) and rebounds (57-54), steals were the order of the day for the West; in this category they had a whopping 35-24 advantage. Other contributors for the West were Hakeem Olajuwon (who logged 23 points), Shawn Kemp (who recorded 10 assists), and John Stockton (whose eight blocks led the team). For the East, it was Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets who led the charge, as he finished with 48 points and 11 blocks. Mark Price--a Cleveland Cavaliers great whose #25 was retired by the team following his retirement--was second with 16 points, which really shows you how dominant Larry was with the ball in his hands. Shaquille O'Neal, a young rising star with the Orlando Magic, who was a few years away from winning his first of four NBA championships, led the East in rebounds (12) and assists (14). With their choice of any team in the league to face on their 'recaptured' home court, the Lakers could have gone for a softer target. Instead, as a 'reward' for Karl Malone earning MVP honors in the All-Star Game, they elected to face the Utah Jazz, perhaps feeling emboldened after their convincing road win over the Nets. Wherever that boldness came from, it dissipated with similar rapidity to that of its arrival, for when the final whistle sounded the Lakers were left to wonder "what went wrong?" The Jazz came, saw, and conquered a Lakers team that looked every bit the W.I.P. (work in progress) that they were during the actual 1993-94 season, taking it by a final score of 113-95. Not until there were only 5:22 left in the fourth period did the Jazz reach 100 points, when journeyman Jay Humphries gave them a 100-89 lead. Another journeyman, Tyrone Corbin, against all odds, wound up being named the "Player of the Game," finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. Had he logged one more assist, he would have had a triple-double; keeping that in mind, it is understandable why he was named MVP. He contributed to the "Hustle Board" too, helping Utah to achieve an overall 99-94 advantage; though the Jazz trailed 17-20 in blocked shots and 27-29 in steals, they boasted a commanding lead in rebounds (57-45). Despite his efforts, he was surpassed in scoring output by the top two scorers of the team, with Karl Malone and David Benoit combining for a whopping 54 points. Felton Spencer led the Jazz with 14 rebounds, while Bryon Russell matched Tyrone from an assist standpoint (with nine) and also contributed six blocks to aid Utah's cause. As for the Lakers, the two standouts were Campbell (32 points, 6 blocks) and Divac (13 rebounds plus 7 assists). The Jazz are currently preparing for a 'defense' against the Heat as of this moment. The sky is gray and gloomy. We are no more than a few minutes removed from the most recent instance of a lightning bolt being visible outside my window. The rain continues to fall, steadily, but not as hard as it was before. It was much more severe earlier, enough so to give cause for concern that we may may suffer a second outage in as many days; upon my return from work yesterday, I noticed that the clock in my room was wrong, a surefire sign that an outage--followed by a subsequent restoration of power--had occurred. I was left to fiddle around with the clock settings, just as I did upon initially getting that clock as a gift a month or two ago, from a friend who I'll be visiting at her achievement center tomorrow morning. The 'acting' house manager and the CNA assisting her can be heard in a discussion, the words of which I am unable to discern as they are speaking Haitian Creole. Indiscernible, yet it carries a humble dignity. One of the candidates for the forthcoming election has recently promoted divisive rhetoric as it pertains to Haitians in America, including allegations of their consumption of pets in certain communities in the United States. Be it true or false, it is a good way to forfeit a large base of potential voters. No matter who wins or loses, I remain disappointed in our politics.