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Carter, Nets sweep Knicks, close in on sixth playoff seed

Apr 17, 2007 - 4:13 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Vince Carter and the New Jersey Nets feel quite at home in Madison Square Garden.

Carter posted the fourth triple-double of his career as the Nets beat the New York Knicks, 104-95, sweeping the season series for the first time since 2001-02.

Carter scored 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists for New Jersey (40-41), which moved within one-half game of idle Washington (40-40) for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

"Vince is playing at a high level going into the playoffs," said Nets guard Jason Kidd, who finished with 11 points, eight boards and six assists. "He has a lot more to give and I feel he can give it to the team. A triple-double says it all."

The Nets wrap up the regular season when they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

"We're happy that we did we some good things," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "We're putting ourselves in a position where now we moved up and guaranteed at least a seventh seed. The goal is to try and get the best possible seed so we just have to keep moving forward and keep playing against the Bulls Wednesday, arguably the hottest team in the NBA."

The injury-depleted Wizards host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday and travel to Indiana on Wednesday.

Carter connected on 7-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range for New Jersey, which has beaten New York six straight times here.

"Believe me, every time I look at the stats, I just want to see how close I've come to getting a triple-double," Carter said. "I said in the beginning of the year, I was going to try to go tit-for-tat against Jason for triple-doubles in a season. I'm think I'm down by double-digits (12-to-2) but that's OK."

Carter and Bostjan Nachbar each had 14 points to spark the Nets to a 55-44 lead at halftime.

"I think Vince is positioning himself to reach another level," Frank said. "He's obviously a huge part of what we do. When plays well, we usually play well."

Nachbar finished with 19 and Richard Jefferson added 15 for New Jersey, which shot 42 percent (29-of-69) and nailed 12-of-28 3-pointers.

Steve Francis scored 26 points and rookie Mardy Collins added a career-high 23 for New York, which lost its fifth straight game.

"New Jersey is a (darn) good basketball team and they are playing well right now," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "If the Pistons don't win it, I definitely want someone from our area to win it.

"They are our rivals and we compete hard against them, but at the same time I do have a great deal of respect for the Nets."

It was the 15th loss in 18 games since Thomas received a contract extension from ownership.

Eddy Curry, who had eight points early in the contest, left in the second quarter with a strained hamstring for the Knicks, who shot 41 percent (32-of-78).

"The leg started to tighten up on me in the second quarter," Curry said. "I came out, stretched it out, tried to go back in but it just didn't feel right. They decided to keep me out so I just have to get ready for Wednesday."