Carter, Nets top Bobcats

Jason Kidd scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Nets, who have won four of five. Bostjan Nachbar added 10 points off the bench for New Jersey.

Raymond Felton scored 18 points for the Bobcats, who lost consecutive games after a season-high three-game winning streak. Emeka Okafor scored 14 points and pulled down 21 rebounds, and Matt Carroll added 13 points for Charlotte. Primoz Brezec scored 10 points and raked in eight boards, and Adam Morrison added 10 points and seven boards.

A 13-0 run by the Bobcats made things very interesting late in the fourth quarter, as the Nets very nearly blew a 23-point, second half lead. Felton hit a layup and a three on the run, which Okafor punctuated with a dunk that brought the Bobcats to within 83-76 with 5:24 left.

The Bobcats fumbled away several opportunities to chip further into the New Jersey lead down the stretch, though, and the Nets, despite some shoddy free- throw shooting (12-for-24), held on for the win.

"We’re just trying to compile as many wins as possible," said Carter. "We feel every game is important for us."

The Nets scored seven straight early in the third quarter, with a dunk by Carter putting New Jersey ahead 62-39 with 7:14 left. The New Jersey lead peaked at 23 points, after Carter drilled a three-pointer that gave the Nets a 66-43 lead with 4:48 left. Charlotte was able to cut into the lead, but still trailed 74-60 entering the final quarter.

A Nachbar jumper fell through as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first quarter, giving the Nets a 20-18 lead heading into the second.

A turnaround jumper by Brezec pulled the Bobcats to within 37-31 with 5:32 left in the second quarter, but the Nets pulled away with a 16-3 run to close the first half. Kidd and Richard Jefferson sank back-to-back threes on the run, which Josh Boone closed with a layup in the final seconds of the half to push the Nets advantage to 53-34.

"Obviously we didn’t play good in the first half," said Carroll. "They jumped on us pretty good."

Game Notes

Bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was ejected with 46.6 seconds left in second quarter, after earning his second technical foul for arguing calls with the officials...New Jersey has never lost in Charlotte, where it is 5-0, and the Nets improved to 8-2 all-time against the Bobcats...Charlotte’s Sean May was a late scratch with a sore right knee.