Nets 105, Bobcats 96: Deron Williams scored eight of his 32 points in the final 1:19 and host Brooklyn fended off a late comeback by Charlotte.
Andray Blatche scored 16 points off the bench and Reggie Evans added 14 points and 20 rebounds as the Nets beat the Bobcats for the seventh straight time to move 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Ben Gordon had 27 points and sparked Charlotte's comeback with 13 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to keep the Bobcats from tumbling to their 12th consecutive defeat on the road.
Williams scored 12 points and Joe Johnson had eight in the third quarter to help Brooklyn open an 83-75 lead entering the final 12 minutes.
The Nets led by nine before Gordon buried two 3-pointers in a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to one point with 2:44 remaining, but Williams took over from there as Brooklyn pulled away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Evans, who lost a tooth during the game but didn't leave the floor, had his eighth 20-rebound game of the season to stretch his streak of games with double-digit boards to 13. ... Gerald Henderson scored 22 points and Bismack Biyombo had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte. ... Williams had his second straight 30-point game and has averaged 28.7 over his last three.
Charlotte | Brooklyn | |
Ben Gordon 27 | Scoring | Deron Williams 32 |
Gerald Henderson 5 | Assists | Deron Williams 6 |
Bismack Biyombo 10 | Rebounds | Reggie Evans 20 |
Gerald Henderson 6 | Free Throws Made | Deron Williams 8 |
Gerald Henderson 2 | Steals | MarShon Brooks 2 |
Bismack Biyombo 5 | Blocks | Brook Lopez 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Charlotte | 96 | 45.0 | 7-21 | 17-23 | 18 | 43 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
Brooklyn | 105 | 48.8 | 5-21 | 22-30 | 17 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 9 |