Frank Earns 100th Career Win As Nets Hold On To Beat Hornets
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Vince Carter scored 27 points and the Nets held off a furious fourth-quarter rally yesterday, beating New Orleans 95-84 for the Hornets’ season-worst sixth straight loss.
The Nets won for only the second time in their last seven games and gave third-year coach Lawrence Frank his 100th win with the team. The man Frank replaced, Hornets coach Byron Scott, is 0-4 against his former team.
The Atlantic Division-leading Nets shot 52% from the field and held New Orleans to 41%. The Hornets had won nine of their last 10 games before the All-Star break.
New Orleans entered the game a half-game ahead of Sacramento for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Sacramento hosted Dallas late yesterday.
New Jersey led 70-51 late in the third quarter, but New Orleans pulled within 82-78 with 2:42 left on a driving layup by Chris Paul, who led the Hornets with 17 points and seven assists. The Hornets had a chance to pull even closer, but Rasual Butler missed a long jumper with 1:55 left.
Jason Kidd’s 3-pointer with 1:40 left gave the Nets a seven-point cushion, and New Jersey went 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 48 seconds to seal the win. Carter, who made four of those free throws, finished 10-of-10 from the line. New Jersey made 26 of 28 free throws.
Kidd just missed what would have been his sixth triple-double this season, fin ishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists. The double-double was his 23rd of the season.
Richard Jefferson added 19 points for New Jersey.
The Nets never trailed, scoring the first eight points and making nine of their first 14 field-goal attempts. New Orleans missed its first six shots and didn’t make its first basket until 5 1/2 minutes into the game.
New Jersey twice pushed its first-half lead to 14 points, the latter time after Carter scored seven straight points, capped by a 3-pointer with 2:38 left in the half. The Hornets closed the half on an 8-2 run to cut the Nets’ lead to 46-38.
A three-point play by Paul brought New Orleans within 51-45 in the third quarter, but the Nets scored the next nine points, rebuilding their lead to 15.
The Nets are 27-0 this season when leading after three quarters.
