NBA Game Summary - Indiana at New Jersey

East Rutherford, NJ (Basketball News) - Vince Carter had 33 points and seven assists to lead the New Jersey Nets past the Indiana Pacers, 98-91, in the back end of a home-and-home at the Continental Airlines Arena. Jason Kidd and Nenad Krstic added 16 and 15 points, respectively for the Nets, who have won a season-high five straight and six of their last seven.

Stephen Jackson led the way with 23 points for Indiana, which dropped its second consecutive game overall and lost for the sixth time in its last nine games away from home. The Pacers, currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, will play three of their next four on the road.

"I thought we played hard," said Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle. "I thought we rebounded well. (Jason) Kidd and (Vince) Carter are difference makers."

Trailing by two heading into the final 12 minutes, New Jersey, which trailed for a majority of the contest, fell behind by five in the early stages of the final quarter.

However, a 14-2 run, capped by a Carter basket, staked the Nets to an 87-80 advantage and they never looked back. Krstic had seven points during the crucial run, with Carter and Kidd netting the rest.

New Jersey eventually went up by as many as eight and rolled to the seven- point win.

The Nets, who started a three-game homestand this evening, have now won three straight in the Garden State on the heels of a two-game slide.

Indiana controlled the action for a majority of the first quarter and grabbed its biggest lead on Jackson’s basket with 46.6 seconds remaining. The Nets, though, scored four of the final six points of the stanza and went into the second trailing by eight, 34-26.

New Jersey scored the first four points of the second to narrow the deficit to four, but that would be as close as it would get the remainder of the half. Indiana quickly went back up by double digits and went into the locker room with a 53-45 advantage

Jackson had 11 points in the second quarter and led all scorers at the break with 15 points. The Nets were paced by Carter’s 14 points.

New Jersey climbed back into the contest in the third and used a 12-3 run to start the stanza to grab its first lead since early in the contest. Krstic’s jumper capped the stanza, as Carter contributed half of the points during the run.

"I think our level of focus is the key right now," said Carter. "The results are getting wins."

The teams went back-and-forth the rest of the quarter, but Fred Jones’ running jumper allowed the Pacers to carry a 70-68 advantage after 36 minutes.