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Hornets down Nets

Mar 18, 2012 - 4:03 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - Chris Kaman and Marco Belinelli scored 20 points apiece, leading a balanced New Orleans attack to a 102-94 victory over the New Jersey Nets at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Jarrett Jack netted 16 points and handed out six assists, while Lance Thomas and Trevor Ariza each tallied 10 points to snap a three game losing streak for the Hornets.

Deron Williams contributed a double-double with 20 points and 12 assists in his first game back after missing the previous four with a strained right calf. Anthony Morrow chipped in 20 points and Gerald Wallace finished with 11 points in his Nets debut. New Jersey has now dropped four of its last five.

"We were not able to slow them down in the fourth quarter," admitted Morrow. "We couldn't get anything going offensively. It's a tough situation to see everything come apart like that."

After trailing by 12 to start the fourth, the Hornets opened the frame on a 12-4 run to pull within four, 86-82, just past the midway point of the fourth.

Williams quelled the run with a layup, but six straight points from the Hornets knotted the game at 88 with 3:49 to play.

Gerald Green's jumper with 2:21 left gave the Nets a four-point lead, but the home team would not score again in the contest.

Jack sank a triple with 1:28 on the clock to give New Orleans its first lead since the first quarter as the Hornets jumped on top 95-94.

Williams then came up empty on his next three field goals and, after Kaman hit a jumper, Belinelli added a three-point dagger from the right wing with 16.8 ticks left to close out the victory for the visitors.

"I think in the second half, we played very good basketball, especially on defense," Belinelli remarked after the win. "I think that's why we won the game."

Wallace scored his first bucket as a Net on a layup from Williams in the first quarter to help New Jersey to a 29-26 advantage after one.

Green got it going in the second, scoring the first nine of the stanza for the Nets to give New Jersey a 38-30 lead just over three minutes into the quarter.

Late in the second, Green added a three for his 12th point of the frame to send the Nets into the locker room with a 51-47 edge.

New Orleans pulled within one with 4:56 left in the third, but the Nets reeled off a 12-2 surge to take a 75-64 lead with 1:56 to play.

The Nets would score the final seven of the quarter to take an 82-70 edge into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Nets acquired Wallace from Portland for Mehmet Okur's expiring contract, forward Shawne Williams and a protected first-round pick before Thursday's trade deadline...New Jersey will host Cleveland on Monday, while New Orleans will travel to Golden State on Wednesday.