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Carter, Jefferson lead Nets past Warriors

Dec 23, 2007 - 5:25 AM By Carl Dispoto PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) - Vince Carter and the New Jersey Nets continue to give the Golden State Warriors a very cold road reception.

Carter buried a wide-open 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to lift the New Jersey Nets to a 100-95 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

Richard Jefferson scored 31 points and Carter added 23 and a season-high 13 rebounds for New Jersey, which has won 10 in a row here vs. Golden State.

"The fact that we were able to get stops against a high-powered offensive team to start the game and to end the game, it's big," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said.

Eight-time All-Star Jason Kidd collected 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 94th career triple-double, seventh this season and 56th with New Jersey.

The Nets also received a huge lift from second-year center Josh Boone, who scored a season-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting while hauling in 13 boards.

New Jersey, which shot 42 percent (35-of-83) from the field and was averaging only 91.6 points to rank among the lowest scoring teams in the league, reached the century mark for just the 10th time this season.

"You just have to keep pushing," Carter said. "People make mistakes and with the way things were going for us, just don't let the pressure get you."

The Nets watched a 10-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter when the Warriors went ahead for the first time since the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Baron Davis with 3:58 left in the game.

Golden State center Andris Biedrins followed a miss by Davis with 3:12 remaining, but Jefferson answered with a fast-break layup with 1:53 remaining.

In the final minute, the Nets relied on Jefferson, who drove to the basket and drew three defenders before finding a wide-open Carter on the right wing. Carter, who made just 10-of-26 shots, buried his second 3-pointer of the game to reclaim the lead for the Nets.

"I just wanted to be ready to shoot," said Carter, who also tied a career high with six steals. "I told R.J. I'd be ready to take the shot, that's how confident I was. It happened just like I played it in my head. I just wanted to make sure I had my hands and feet ready."

Bostjan Nachbar drew an offensive foul on Warriors forward Al Harrington on the ensuing possession as the Nets held on for their third win in five games following a four-game slide.

"We just didn't make a lot of shots and didn't play very well," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.

Stephen Jackson led five players in double figures with 21 points and Monta Ellis scored 19 for the Warriors, who fell to 2-2 on a season-high five-game road trip.

"A number of guys did not score and there were a number of reasons," Nelson said. "We battled defensively but you've got to make some shots."