Nets’ 14th Straight Victory Matches Franchise Record
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Richard Jefferson scored a season-high 40 points, Jason Kidd had his 74th triple-double, and the Nets extended the longest winning streak in the NBA this season to 14 by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 113-102 last night.
The Nets also matched the longest winning streak in franchise history, having won 14 in a row from January 25-February 24,2004. New Jersey broke a tie with Dallas for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
Once the blowout was ensured, the Nets even were able to get Kidd a final rebound in the last minute to add to his triple-double total. He finished with 13 points, 12 assists, and 10 boards, moving within four triple-doubles of Wilt Chamberlain for third place on the career list.
Vince Carter added 20 points for the Nets, who pulled away in the third quarter by shooting 14-for-18 (78%) from the floor. Jefferson scored 26 points in the second half.
Raymond Felton scored 20 points and Primoz Brezec had 16 for the Bobcats, who stayed close with the Nets for 2 1/2 quarters before Jefferson and Kidd took over.
The Bobcats tied it for the final time at 64 on Felton’s three-point play with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, but the Nets scored six straight points, taking a 70-64 when Kidd tipped a pass in the air to Carter for a layup.
Charlotte was within four later in the period, but Kidd hit a 3-pointer to spark a 13-4 surge that broke open the game. Jefferson scored six points during the surge, including two free throws that made it 85-72 with 6 seconds left in the quarter.
Jefferson made sure Charlotte wouldn’t get close in the final quarter, hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer, pushing the lead to 92-76. He hit two more 3s later in the period, the final one pushing the lead to 107-86 with about 4 1/2 minutes to go.
The Bobcats started slowly, perhaps because a traffic accident on Route 3 delayed their arrival at the arena until 6:15 p.m. The Nets had a double-digit lead before half the first quarter had been played and led by 14 points later in the period.
Charlotte got within 33-25 by the end of the quarter, and went ahead 44-42 when Felton hit a 3-pointer with 4:22 remaining in the half. Brevin Knight’s layup with 0.9 seconds to go sent the teams to halftime tied at 51.
With 5,703 points, Kidd passed Keith Van Horn (5,700) for seventh place on the Nets’ career scoring list.
