The New Jersey Nets (3–2) wrapped up their four-game home stand on Wednesday night with an all-out battle against the Charlotte Bobcats (1–3), losing to the visitors 85–83 in the final seconds of play.
The Bobcats took the lead by two points 83–81 off foul shots with just 1:35 on the clock.
Nets big man Brook Lopez answered the call by making a difficult shot in the paint to tie it back up, but then Charlotte took the lead for good off two D.J. Augustin foul shots with less than a minute to go.
The Nets had two good shot opportunities with under 30 seconds on the clock from Devin Harris and Lopez, but the ball just wouldn’t fall.
First Half
Lopez and the surging rookie from Georgia Tech Derrick Favors led the Nets in scoring in the first half, while point guard Devin Harris did a good job running the offense.
A great play came midway through the second quarter with reserve guard Terrence Williams delivering a perfect alley-oop pass to Favors to pull the Nets within three points.
Shortly after that Favors wrenched away an offensive rebound off a missed paint shot by Lopez, putting the ball in the basket and getting the foul to make it a three-point play and tying the score at 30.
With just over two minutes to go in the half the Nets took the lead 34–32 off a fade away jumper from the right corner from Harris, riding a 15–2 run.
But the Bobcats rallied and finished the half up 41–40 off a 3-pointer from the left wing by Boris Diaw.
“Devin [Harris] is really playing well for us tonight,” Nets assistant coach Sam Mitchell told YES at halftime. “Whenever he and Brook [Lopez] play we have a good chance to win.”
“We got back in the game because we started guarding some of their set [plays] but the thing we have to do is stay away from careless turnovers,” Mitchell said.
Fourth Quarter Scramble
After a competitive third quarter that saw both teams within a few baskets of each other for much of play, the Nets went on an 11–2 run to pull up by eight points 74–66 midway through the fourth quarter.
That lead eventually went up to 10 points before the Bobcats went on a 12–2 run of their own, with Nazr Mohammed tying the score up at 81 with two minutes to go in the game.
The game ended in a scramble on the ground for possession of the ball, with Lopez suffering a possible shoulder injury. Lopez has never missed a game in his NBA career.
Harris took charge for the Nets in the second half, scoring 13 points to bring lead the Nets in overall scoring with 19, while delivering 8 assists.
Lopez finished with 17 points and five blocked shots, and Favors matched starting guard Anthony Morrow with 11 points. Favors also pulled down eight rebounds.
The Bobcats were led by Diaw and Gerald Wallace, with 24 and 20 points respectively. Wallace was a monster on the boards with 11 rebounds, and his all-around aggressive play was key to Charlotte’s win.
The Nets next travel to Florida to face two of basketball’s best teams in the Orlando Magic on Friday and the Miami Heat on Saturday.
The Nets had their first loss of the season against the Heat, 101–78 on Sunday.
