NBA Game Summary – Atlanta at New Jersey

East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Vince Carter's buzzer-beating three- pointer in overtime atoned for a miss that would have won it at the end of regulation, sending the New Jersey Nets to a dramatic 93-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks at the IZOD Center.

Carter had 18 points with four rebounds and four assists, while Devin Harris notched game-bests of 26 points and 11 assists for New Jersey, which put the brakes on a two-game skid and won for just the third time in the last eight games.

Bobby Simmons chipped in with 12 points and Brook Lopez added seven points and 11 rebounds in the win, the Nets' first in their last five home games.

Mike Bibby went for 22 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Josh Smith scored 20 to go along with six boards as the Hawks had their six-game winning streak to come to an end.

Joe Johnson had 13 points, nine boards and nine helpers for Atlanta, which is 7-9 away from home this season. Al Horford added 10 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Jarvis Hayes' three-pointer with 1:35 to go in overtime broke an 87-point deadlock, but Bibby was fouled while taking a three with 20.8 seconds left. Bibby could only hit two, but Maurice Evans stole New Jersey's inbounds pass and pushed ahead to Smith for a quick layup to lead by one with 11.0 seconds to go.

The Hawks had a foul to give and used it on a driving Carter, leaving New Jersey only 5.3 seconds in which to work. The Nets got the ball in play cleanly this time, as Carter raced back over center court to retrieve the rock before pulling up for the game-winning three from well beyond the arc as time expired.

The Hawks owned a 21-16 lead after 12 minutes and pushed that lead to 20, 49-29, at the break after the Nets went cold from the field. A Bibby jumper made it a 33-16 game before Keyon Dooling was able to hit for New Jersey's first points of the frame with 6:18 left.

The Nets turned things around in the second half as an 8-0 spurt to start the third was followed closely by a host of three-pointers from Harris, Simmons and then Carter.

That pulled the Nets to within six, 52-46, close to midway through the frame before ending down eight, 69-61.

New Jersey started the fourth quarter on a 10-run and Harris' three-ball capped it to give the Nets their first lead, 71-69, since the first quarter.

The game remained tight until a Carter three and a putback by Lopez put New Jersey up by five with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Atlanta, though, scored the next five points and Horford's layup with 47.3 seconds left tied the game at 85 after the big-man failed to convert the free throw on a potential three-point play.

Harris missed on the other end but came back to block a shot from Johnson before Carter's jumper at the buzzer hit rim and backboard only.

Copyright SPNET - The Sports Network
Contact Us