Carter, Nets blast Bucks

The snow may have cooled off the fans but it could not stop the Nets, as Jason Kidd and Clifford Robinson each scored 16 points and Scott Padgett netted 10 for the Nets, who finished their five-game homestand with four wins. Kidd also dished out five assists and had four steals.

New Jersey had 32 assists on 36 field goals, led by Richard Jefferson with seven.

Michael Redd paced the Bucks with 27 points and T.J. Ford contributed 18 points and six assists for the Bucks, who had a two-game winning streak snapped and have lost four of their last seven attempts.

With the Bucks leading 11-10 on Redd’s three-pointer the Nets reeled off an 11-4 run, capped by Nenad Krstic’s jumper, to give New Jersey a 21-15 advantage. Kidd scored 10 first-quarter points and the Nets led 26-20 after 12 minutes of play.

Ford’s trey cut the deficit to 28-23 early in the second quarter, but New Jersey went on an 12-2 spurt, highlighted by Antoine Wright’s alley-oop from Carter, to make the score 40-25. Milwaukee went nearly 4 1/2 minutes without a field goal to help fuel the run. The Bucks responded with a 16-8 streak, including nine points from Redd, to narrow the gap to 49-41.

The Nets connected on 12-of-20 from the floor in the second period and led 55-43 at the half. After taking an elbow to the ribs, Krstic was ejected for throwing a punch at Jamaal Magloire as the first half came to an end.

Milwaukee opened the third stanza with an 11-5 run, capped by Ford’s bucket to cut the lead 60-54. The Nets missed their first nine shots from the field and did not score until Jason Collins’ layup with 6:09 remaining. New Jersey regrouped and responded with a 12-5 spurt to close the quarter with a 72-59 edge.

The Bucks could not muster a run in the final frame and never got closer than 13.

Game Notes

Robinson played in his 1,297th game, moving past Mark Jackson for 10th all-time. Elvin Hayes is in ninth place at 1,303 games...New Jersey has won 13 of their last 14 at home...The Nets play five of their next seven contests on the road...New Jersey shot 58.3 percent from the floor in the first half...Milwaukee has lost six of its last nine games in New Jersey...The Bucks’ bench was outscored 36-11.