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Jefferson, Bobcats outlast Nets in OT

Mar 27, 2014 - 3:12 AM Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Jefferson racked up 35 points and 15 rebounds to help lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a hard-earned 116-111 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Kemba Walker added 20 points and 12 assists and Chris Douglas-Roberts gave Charlotte a big lift off the bench, netting five of his 16 points in the extra period and knocking down a game-sealing jumper with 10.1 seconds remaining.

With the win and Washington's loss to Phoenix on Wednesday, the Bobcats closed within 1 1/2 games of the Wizards for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference.

"I think if we continue to win games everything will take care of itself, everything will work out," Jefferson remarked.

The Nets dropped their second overtime decision in three nights despite Deron Williams' 29 points and the team hitting 17 shots from 3-point range, including six from Mirza Teletovic in a 22-point effort.

Joe Johnson finished with 18 points in the loss, Brooklyn's second straight following a four-game win streak.

After failing to hold on to an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, Charlotte regrouped and began the overtime session with a 7-3 flurry that Jefferson began with a layup and Douglas-Roberts finished with a 3- pointer for a 112-108 edge.

Johnson buried a trey on the other end to send the Nets within one with 2:15 to go, but Brooklyn missed its last five shots. Walker gave the Bobcats some breathing room by drilling a clutch step-back jumper with 43 seconds on the clock, and the Nets couldn't convert on the ensuing possession before Charlotte sealed it on its next trip.

Josh McRoberts was rejected by the Nets' Mason Plumlee while driving the lane, but the carom went right to Douglas-Roberts and the swingman swished home a 21-footer with the shot clock winding down for a 116-111 advantage.

"I thought the defense was great, but in the end, we come up with a blocked shot, the ball bounces, and you know CDR, he makes a shot with the shot clock winding down and so everybody executed," said Nets head coach Jason Kidd. "The ball just bounced their way tonight."

A four-point swing created by a flagrant 2 foul on Brooklyn's Jorge Gutierrez with 6:42 remaining in intermission had Charlotte firmly in control. Cody Zeller sank the resulting free throws and McRoberts dunked in Walker's missed layup to put the Bobcats up by a 98-90 score.

Teletovic and Williams both made threes on the Nets' next two possessions, however, then later erased a four-point deficit with under two minutes left when Williams followed Plumlee's tip-in with a cutting layup to knot the score at 103-103 with 59.8 seconds to play.

Walker and Williams then traded baskets before overtime was needed after the Bobcats couldn't get off a shot in the final seconds.

Williams began the game on fire, pouring in 10 points in the opening 4 1/2 minutes, and the Nets hit on six of their first seven shot attempts in building an early 14-9 lead. He finished the period with 18 points while going 4-of-6 on 3-point tries as Brooklyn owned a 28-24 edge at the conclusion of the frame.

The Bobcats quickly scored the first five points of the second quarter to draw even, and the contest remained tight throughout the duration of the half. Brooklyn opened up a 51-45 advantage following a Teletovic three with 4:37 left, but Jefferson led Charlotte on a 13-5 spurt before Teletovic drained another triple to send the Nets ahead by a 59-58 count at the break.

Jefferson kept Charlotte in it by amassing 22 first-half points in less than 18 minutes of playing time.

A 9-0 surge, in which Walker recorded the first five points and Jefferson the last four, staked the Bobcats to a 74-66 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Nets cut it to three late in the stanza, however, with a 10-4 stretch capped by Johnson's trey that brought Brooklyn within 81-78.

Game Notes

Brooklyn went 17-of-37 on 3-point attempts but was outrebounded by a 49-32 margin and outscored 42-30 in points in the paint ... The Bobcats improved to 3-2 in overtime games this season. The Nets, playing their third straight that went to extra time, are now 3-4 in such contests ... Nets guard Marcus Thornton (back) and Bobcats sixth man Gary Neal (knee/ankle) both sat out the game ... The Nets had won nine of the last 10 meetings between the clubs coming in, but lost in both of their visits to Charlotte this season.