Carter Picks Up Offensive Slack as Nets Top Bulls
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CHICAGO – Vince Carter had 25 points and six rebounds to lead the Nets to an 84-80 victory over the Chicago Bulls last night.
Carter finished 9-of-23 in his second game for New Jersey, one night after limping off the court in an overtime loss at Detroit.
Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic each scored 17 points for New Jersey.
Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 30 points and Ben Gordon added 19.
The Nets’ offense was out of sync until the final two minutes. Jason Kidd was almost held scoreless for the first time since November 17, 2001, and Carter started limping early in the first quarter and didn’t score during the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter.
But the Nets finally got their act together late in the final minutes. After Hinrich hit a jumper to give Chicago a 76-71 lead with 2:11 left, New Jersey responded with a 10-0 run.
Carter scored four straight points, then Kidd hit Krstic with a nice pass for a layup to give the Nets a 77-76 lead with 1:04 left. Chicago’s Luol Deng made a turnover and Kidd picked a good time to make his only shot – a 3-pointer that gave the Nets an 80-76 lead with 27.8 seconds left.
Jefferson secured the victory for the Nets with a block on Andres Nocioni with 20 seconds remaining.
Kidd finished with just four points, but contributed with 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Carter missed his first four shots in his first start for the Nets and New Jersey missed its first 10 overall before Krstic scored with 5:47 left in the first quarter. The Nets finished 5-of-21 in the first period, but the Bulls were just as bad, shooting 5-of-18. The two teams entered the second quarter tied at 12.
Things didn’t improve much in the second, and Chicago led 31-30 at the break. Carter had 13 points during the first half, when the Nets shot 27.5%.
Also yesterday, he Nets placed guard Ron Mercer on the injured list before the game and signed forward Jerome Moiso.
Mercer played in the first three games of the season before injuring his left knee. He underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on November 15, and is undergoing rehab. He has averaged 13.9 points in his career.
Moiso has previously played with Boston, New Orleans, and Toronto. He has averaged 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 133 games in the NBA.
