NBA Game Summary - New Jersey at Washington
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Washington, DC (Basketball News) - Richard Jefferson poured in 27 points on 11- of-15 shooting to lead New Jersey past Washington, 112-100, at the Verizon Center.
Vince Carter added a game-high 28 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Nets, who won their sixth straight contest. Jason Kidd chipped in with 14 points, seven boards and nine assists while Nenad Krstic had 11 points in the win.
Gilbert Arenas donated 25 points and dished out eight assists for the Wizards, who lost for just the second time in their past six contests. Caron Butler also recorded 25 points while Antawn Jamison had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
After playing a nip and tuck game through the first three frames, New Jersey finally stared to pull away midway through the final stanza.
Holding on to a precarious 76-75 lead, the Nets scored 16 of the game’s next 22 points to gain control of the contest. Jefferson capped the flurry by draining a pair from the line, with 6:22 remaining, to make the score 92-81.
After a Jamison jumper stopped the bleeding momentarily, the Nets continued to pull away.
Jefferson’s trey, with 4:19 left, gave New Jersey its largest lead of the night, 99-85.
The Wizards got to within eight points, 106-98, on Antonio Daniels’ three- point play with 56 ticks left but it was too little, too late as the Nets coasted to the finish line.
The Nets came out of the blocks on fire thanks to the hot shooting of Carter and led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter. New Jersey finished the first 12 minutes with a 27-22 advantage.
Washington closed the gap to two, 47-45, at intermission. Carter paced the Nets with 14 points at the half while Arenas had 11 for the Wizards.
Washington found themselves down by just a point, 71-70, after three quarters.