Kidd and Nets upend Milwaukee

Vince Carter scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Nets, who have won 15 of 16. Nenad Krstic posted 20 points and 11 rebounds. Richard Jefferson scored 19 points, and Jacque Vaughn added eight points. Jason Collins grabbed nine boards.

"Vince Carter has been a constant for us and just a guy that we have counted on the entire year," Vaughn said. "His ability to get into the lane and create for himself and others is an important part of our team."

T.J. Ford scored 19 points to pace the Bucks, who have dropped four in a row. Michael Redd and Charlie Bell scored 16 points apiece, and Dan Gadzuric added eight boards.

The Nets are 2 1/2 games back of the Miami Heat for the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, after the Heat lost 93-84 to Orlando later on Sunday. The Bucks are No. 6 in the Eastern Conference playoff race and still own a slim one-half game lead over the seventh- seeded Indiana Pacers, who lost to Detroit, 98-73, earlier on Sunday.

Milwaukee made a push down the fourth-quarter stretch with a 7-2 run capped by a Maurice Williams jumper with 1:22 left to trail 93-83. Carter scored an alley oop jam with 1:01 remaining, however, to seal the win.

After the Bucks jumped out to a 4-0 lead, New Jersey went on a 31-8 run thereafter sparked by eight straight points by Krstic to lead 31-12 heading into the second quarter. Milwaukee responded by closing the second on an 11-2 spurt, highlighted by seven points by Ford, to trail just 49-42 at halftime.

However, the Nets blew the game open on a 19-4 run capped by three straight Kidd threes to attain a 20-point lead with 3:09 left in the third period, after which New Jersey led 76-60.

"We didn’t play well enough or hard enough to beat a team that’s one of the hottest teams in the league," Milwaukee coach Terry Stotts said. "Getting down to them by twenty, that’s a big hole. When you’re not shooting the ball well, you have to defend a little harder, and we just couldn’t quite get there."

New Jersey is 19-19 on the road this season. It has won six in a row as the visitor.

The Bucks are a solid 23-15 at home this season. They had a six-game winning streak at the Bradley Center snapped.

Game Notes

This was the fourth and final meeting of the season between the clubs this season. The teams split a pair of games at Continental Airlines Arena, while the Nets defeated Milwaukee, 89-85, on February 21st at the Bradley Center...New Jersey has won three straight after losing the last two meetings.