Raymond Felton had 19 points for Charlotte. Coach Larry Brown decided to experiment with nothing on the line and played four reserves with only one starter in both the second and fourth quarters. It ended up costing the Bobcats their third straight loss and sixth in seven games.
Charlotte seemed to take control in the third quarter when Brown used his starting lineup the entire way. Trailing by five halfway through the quarter, Gerald Wallace scored six points in a 14-4 spurt that gave the Bobcats a 72-67 lead entering the final 12 minutes.
That's when Brown put starting guard D.J. Augustin on the floor with Sean May, DeSagana Diop, Dontell Jefferson and Vladimir Radmanovic. They played all 12 minutes, hitting just five of 18 shots.
Augustin, May and Diop actually combined on a 7-0 run to start the quarter and extend the Bobcats' lead to 79-67 with 9:36 to play. Charlotte would score only eight points the rest of the game.
A jumper by Hayes and two baskets by Chris Douglas-Roberts ignited a 10-0 spurt that got New Jersey within 79-77 with 6:29 to go.
The Nets twice tied the game, the second time at 85 on an off-balance jumper by Carter with 3:25 to play.
May gave Charlotte its last lead at 87-85 with a jumper at the three-minute mark.
Both teams missed shots over the next few moments before Hayes finally put New Jersey ahead 88-87 on a long 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining.
After May missed a jumper, Hayes hit another bomb with 1:07 to go and the Nets closed out their final home game with their defense containing Charlotte's backups.
Brown rested all of his starters in the second quarter except for Felton, who scored 11 of their 21 points to keep the Bobcats close. The only other starter to play was Augustin, who returned for the final 19 seconds.
Notes: Bobcats G Raja Bell missed his fifth straight game with a calf injury. ... Nets G Keyon Dooling also was out with a calf injury. ... Brown picked up a technical foul for arguing a foul call in the second quarter. ... Lopez's previous career best for rebounds was 17 at Philadelphia on Jan. 31.
NEW YORK SPORTS AND MORE
USEFUL LINKS:
SEND TIP OR PHOTO || REPORT TYPO || GET WIDGET
EYEWITNESS TWITTER || FIND US ON FACEBOOK
