Nets Clinch Atlantic Division With 13th Straight Victory
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Nets won their 13th straight game last night, holding off Atlanta for a 96-94 win on a night when they also clinched their fourth Atlantic Division title in the last five years .
Vince Carter scored 27 points for the Nets, who tied Dallas for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season and moved to within one of the franchise record set in 2003-04.The division title was actually sealed with second-place Philadelphia’s 124-91 loss to Cleveland earlier.
Atlanta (22-51), which cut a 23-point fourth-quarter deficit to one point, lost for the 12th time in 14 games. Joe Johnson scored 33 points to lead the Hawks.
The Nets appeared on their way to an easy victory after shooting 12-for-15 in the third quarter and taking an 80-57 lead early in the fourth. But the Hawks went on a 24-2 run, led by eight points by Anthony Grundy, to cut the gap to 82-81.
Carter answered with a 3-pointer to give the Nets a four-point cushion with a little more than five minutes left, but Atlanta crept to within a basket at 89-87 on Josh Smith’s free throw with 1:37 left.
Carter then made three free throws after being fouled while shooting a 3- pointer by Donta Smith with 1:25 left to make it 92-87, and Nenad Krstic’s two free throws made it 94-87. Five straight points by Johnson cut the lead to two again, but he committed an offensive foul with 8.9 seconds left to spoil the Hawks’ last chance.
Richard Jefferson and Krstic scored 17 points each for New Jersey and Jason Kidd had 11 points and 13 assists.
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WIZARDS 105, KNICKS 90 In Washington, the Knicks committed a seasonhigh 28 turnovers and Gilbert Arenas had 13 points and a season-high 13 assists as the Wizards defeated the Knicks 105-90 last night.
Jackie Butler scored a career-high 22 points for the Knicks, who are looking more and more comfortable in the role of a team that simply can’t wait for the season to end.They had 16 turnovers at halftime – including two offensive 3-second violations in the first quarter. Nine of the 10 players who suited up finished with at least one turnover, and three starters – Malik Rose (six), Eddy Curry (four), and Jamal Crawford (five) – combined for 15 as the team lost its ninth straight game.
