Carter leads Nets over Wizards in OT

Carter finished with a game-high 34 points and Nenad Krstic added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who blew a 14-point halftime lead but managed to salvage the win. Jason Kidd had a triple-double with 15 points, 18 assists and 11 rebounds.

Gilbert Arenas scored 25 points but went just 6-for-23 from the floor for Washington, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.

With New Jersey trailing by three and just two seconds remaining on the clock, Carter took an inbounds pass a few feet behind the top of the arc and hurled a three that rang off the back rim. Perhaps aided by the new ball, the shot took an unusually soft bounce and went in to tie the game as the buzzer sounded.

"It was a very tough game to lose," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "We fought back and got the lead, but it was a great shot by him (Vince Carter). The ball went to the back of the rim and fell in. The shot took the wind out of us and we weren’t able to respond in overtime."

It was all New Jersey in overtime, as Krstic hit a pair of jumpers to spark an 11-3 run that made it 98-90. Carter then hit four free throws down the stretch to seal it.

"I really liked the tempo," New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said. "I thought Jason [Kidd] directed the floor game as well as anyone I’ve ever seen."

The Wizards trailed by 14 at the break, but started the third quarter with a 17-6 run to cut their deficit to 56-53.

They fell back down by seven by the end of the third but continued to chip away, and finally pulled even with 5:43 remaining on an Antonio Daniels free throw.

After a pair of defensive stops, Washington finally went ahead on a fadeaway jumper by Caron Butler to make it 79-77.

Moments later, Jarvis Hayes cruised in for a layup to extend the lead to four points.

The lead fluctuated between two and four points from there until Carter drained a three with 34 ticks on the clock to move the Nets within one. Krstic came up with a block on the other end to give New Jersey the ball back with a chance to win.

Following a timeout Carter received the ball above the three-point line and stormed toward the basket, but was whistled for an offensive foul with three seconds on the clock to give the ball back to the Wizards.

Hayes was immediately fouled and drained both free throws to make it a three- point game and set up Carter’s dramatic three.

New Jersey stormed out of the gates to build an early 17-2 lead. Krstic had eight points in the spurt, including a jumper with 5:17 remaining in the first to cap the run. The Nets, though, led just 23-17 by quarter’s end.

The visiting team went on to outscore the Wizards 27-19 in the second quarter to bring a 50-36 advantage into intermission. Carter went 3-for-4 from behind the arc for 15 points after 24 minutes, and Krstic ended with 12.

Game Notes

The Nets were playing without Richard Jefferson, who has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain that will likely sideline the star swingman for at least a month...Butler had 17 points and 12 boards...Washington shot just 35 percent from the floor.