Carter leads Nets past Pacers

Nenad Krstic added 18 points and seven boards while Jason Kidd chipped in 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Nets, who have won two in a row.

Al Harrington netted 18, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to lead five Pacers in double-figures. Jermaine O’Neal scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards and Jamaal Tinsley poured in 16 points and six assists for Indiana, which has lost three straight games.

Trailing 71-67, Darrell Armstrong and Danny Granger hit back-to-back treys, to pull the Pacers within 71-70 heading into the final frame.

After double-teaming O’Neal, the Nets defense consistently failed to rotate, leaving men open around the perimeter. Granger made them pay with a three, giving the Pacers their first lead, 73-71, since 4-2.

With the score tied 79-79, Bostjan Nachbar’s three-point play with under eight minutes to play gave New Jersey the lead for good.

Indiana cut the lead to one on a number of occasions, the last on O’Neal’s jumper, making the score 90-89 with 2:47 to play, but the Nets pulled away by scoring 10 of the final 12 points.

The Nets led 28-16 after the opening 12 minutes of play.

A pair of Clifford Robinson free throws extended the lead to 39-25, but the Pacers reeled off a 12-3 run, capped by Marquis Daniels’ jumper, narrowing the gap to 42-37.

However, New Jersey responded by scoring nine of the last 13 points of the half, highlighted by Krstic’s three-point play, pushing the margin to 51-41.

Carter’s running jumper gave the Nets a 57-45 advantage, but Indiana used a 10-3 rally, including six points from O’Neal, to cut the deficit 60-55 in the third quarter.

Game Notes

The Nets shot 45 percent from the field, including 6-of-13 from long distance, while the Pacers connected on 44 percent of their shots from the floor...Daniels finished with 14 points and Granger ended with 12...Robinson had 14 points...New Jersey scored 42 points in the paint.