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Morrison, Bobcats hand Nets sixth straight loss

Nov 29, 2006 - 3:26 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Rookie Adam Morrison showed Vince Carter that he knows how to take over a game, too.

Morrison scored seven of his 22 points in a decisive fourth-quarter run and Sean May added 20 as the Charlotte Bobcats handed the New Jersey Nets their sixth straight loss, 96-92.

Raymond Felton contributed 12 points for the Bobcats, who shot 46 percent (38-of-83) from the field to snap a two-game losing streak. May was 8-of-12 from the field.

"I wasn't shooting it well. I just kept sticking with it and trying to get to the basket and get to the line," Morrison said.

Morrison made 9-of-21 shots, including his most important ones with the game on the line. The third overall pick in June's draft, the 6-8 forward showed his full offensive repertoire in a key sequence.

Trailing, 81-71, with 9 1/2 minutes remaining, the Nets went on a 7-0 run with Carter scoring five straight points. However, Morrison answered by scoring on three consecutive possessions, highlighted by a baseline floater over Carter and a deep 3-pointer to make it 88-81 with 5:25 remaining.

"One thing we have to work on is closing out games," Morrison said. "I know it's tough in the NBA because guys make plays. If we can learn to keep the eight- or nine-point lead and ride it out to the end that would help. They did a good job coming back, but we did a good job of responding and making baskets down the stretch." Carter, Richard Jefferson and finally Jason Kidd took their turns guarding Morrison, but he was able to create shots against them all.

"They put Jason on him, which occupied Jason, and that shows you the respect that the Nets had for him," Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said.

New Jersey went on one final run, cutting the deficit to 92-90 with 17 seconds remaining, but Carter missed a 3-pointer from well behind the arc.

"It was a nice play. Everybody was sucked in," Carter said. "I was wide open and I felt good. I thought it was going to go in."

The Nets sandwiched an 0-4 road trip between home losses in its longest losing streak in two years. Carter scored 25 points and Nenad Krstic added 20 for the New Jersey, which shot 41 percent (28-of-69).

"We want to be hungry for a win. Right now, we didn't buy into what it takes to win," New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said. "We do it for a half, this time the second half. We are not getting the job done. We hold guys accountable every single day. It's not just one guy. We are not getting it done as a team. Right now, this is a team-wide problem."

At 5-9, the Nets are one-half game behind Boston in the awful Atlantic Division, where all five teams have losing records.

"We have a great basketball team. If we played a little bit better basketball we should be on top of this division," Carter said. "I can care less. If we do our job that is all that really matters. There are always positives but we should be taking advantage of those opportunities. We are better than what we are showing right now."