Apr 17, 2007, 2:20 GMT
New York, NY - Vince Carter recorded his fourth career triple-double as New Jersey bested New York, 104-95 ,at Madison Square Garden.
Carter scored 29 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists for the Nets, who won their third straight contest and moved within one-half game of idle Washington for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
'Whatever I can do the help the team,' said Carter. 'I said at the beginning of the season I wanted to go tit-for-tat with Jason (Kidd) in triple-doubles. I'm still down by double-digits but it's always fun to get one.'
The Nets will close out the 2006-07 regular-season schedule on Wednesday versus Chicago at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey.
Bostjan Nachbar added 19 points off the bench for the Nets, while Mikki Moore finished with 15 points.
Steve Francis had 26 points for the Knicks, who dropped their fifth straight game and lost for the 13th time in 15 contests. Mardy Collins tallied a career-high 23 points and 10 boards.
The Nets entered the final frame with a 10-point lead but New York didn't go away. The Knicks drew within four, 85-81, on Collins' driving layup with 8:31 left in the game.
But, less than 30 seconds later, Richard Jefferson stopped the bleeding by draining a three. A few minutes later, Nachbar converted a pair from the line and New Jersey had a 10-point advantage again, 94-84.
The Knicks never seriously threatened from there as the Nets wrapped up their sixth consecutive win in the Big Apple.
The Nets took a slim 27-25 edge after the opening 12 minutes.
New Jersey then began to pull away in the second quarter thanks to the three. The Nets made five treys in the opening minutes of the frame, the last of which by Nachbar gave New Jersey its first double-digit cushion, 43-33, with just under seven minutes to go until intermission.
The Nets continued to play frontrunner for the rest of the stanza and took a 55-44 advantage into the locker room.
New Jersey remained in control through three quarters, 79-69.
Game Notes
Carter has two triple-doubles this season. Kidd has 12...The Knicks' Eddy Curry strained a hamstring in the first half and did not play in the rest of the game...The Nets are now 1 1/2 games ahead of Orlando for the No. 7 seed in the East...The Knicks wrap up the 2006-07 campaign on Wednesday at Charlotte...Nets minority owner Jay-Z was at courtside with Beyonce and Tyra Banks.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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