Nets Spoil Magic’s Attempt to Secure 2nd Seed

Just a couple of games left in the season, the Orlando Magic suffered untimely setbacks when they visited New Jersey. The 12^th place Nets defeated the visiting Magic 103-93 and extinguished their hopes of grabbing the second spot n the east. Aside from sliding down to the 3^rd seed, the Magic also saw Hedo Turkoglu limping out of the court with a sprained ankle.

The Nets displayed a different starting five and fielded three rookies in the starting line-up. Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts were given chance to play since the Nets were already out of playoff contention. The three rookies combined for 32 points. Vince Carter led the game with 27 points and nine assists while Keyon Dooling added 12 points and ten assists.  The Nets played without point guard Devin Harris who was nursing a shoulder injury.

Turkoglu had team-high 16 points before leaving limping out of the game in the final period. Magic big man Dwight Howard only had 7 points and eight rebounds in 26 min of play. Tony Battie and Rafer Alston had 14 and 13 points respectively.

New Jersey will face the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks for their final two games while Orlando will close their season with games against Milwaukee Bucks and Bobcats.

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Nets Bounce Back, Defeats Charlotte Bobcats

Vince Carter and Devin Harris bounced back from an ugly game against the Charlotte Bobcats and led the New Jersey Nets for a 114-103 OT win against the same team that defeated them just a day ago.

Carter led the Nets with 28 points while Harris added 26. Jarvis Hayes and Josh Boone added 14 and 12 points respectively in reserve roles. Brook Lopez managed only 6 points but grabbed 13 boards for the Nets.

Gerald Wallace poured in 32 points for the Bobcats but it wasn’t enough to stop the Nets’ surge in the extra period. The Bobcats was outscored 18-7 in overtime.

Raja Bell, who left the game in the third due to a groin injury, added 18 points while Emeka Okafor chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds.

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Okafor, Felton Combines for 43, Downs New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets continue to struggle in their home turf as the visiting Charlotte Bobcats handed them another loss at IZOD Center. Bobcats defeated the Nets 95-87 behind Raymond Felton’s 22 points. Emeka Okafor added 21 points, 9 rebounds and two blocks.

New Jersey’s Vince Carter and Devin Harris both struggled in the game. Carter finished the game with only 19 points on 8-21 shooting while Harris only had 14 points on 4-15 shooting.

The addition of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell into their rotation is showing some glimpse of hope for the Bobcats as they won 4 of last five outings. Bell hit all three attempts from the long-distance and finished with 9 points. Diaw chipped in 16 points, 8 rebounds and seven assists.

The Nets are now 5-11 at IZOD Center this season and 14-15 overall while the Bobcats are 11-19.

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