Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó Not only did the New Jersey Nets win, they had somewhat of a laugher.
See what happens when the NBA’s worst team gets its starting five together for the first time since the second game of the season.
Brook Lopez had 21 points and 14 rebounds and the Nets snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 104-95 blowout of the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
“I looked down at the bench at one point and there must have been seven or eight guys in sweats,” Lopez said. “It was good to see. It was crowded unfortunately, it was uncomfortable.”
The Nets had a lot of comfort on the court with a lineup that included Lopez, Yi Jianlian (22 points), Chris Douglas-Roberts (17), Courtney Lee (10) and Devin Harris (17, eight assists and seven rebounds).
The group shared the ball especially well, with all five starters taking between 12 and 16 shots as New Jersey (3-29) ended its second double-digit losing streak of the season.
The record reflects the absences. The Nets set an NBA record opening the season with 18 straight losses.
“This is something to build on,” Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “We realize this is just one game but we’ve played for a few games in a row.”
Raptors 107, Bobcats 103
TORONTO ó Chris Bosh had 33 points and 13 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani matched his season high with 28 points, and Toronto beat Charlotte for its season-high fifth straight victory.
Marco Belinelli scored 13 points and rookie DeMar DeRozan had 10 as Toronto avenged its worst defeat of the season, a 116-81 loss at Charlotte on Nov. 25 ó the biggest margin of victory in Bobcats history.
Stephen Jackson scored 30 points and Raymond Felton had 23 for the Bobcats, who are 1-14 on the road, the second-worst mark in the NBA.
Cavs 106, Hawks 101
CLEVELAND ó Anderson Varejao made his first career 3-pointer with 17.2 seconds left ó a 25th birthday present to teammate LeBron James ó to give Cleveland a 106-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavaliers’ 11th victory in 12 games.
James scored a season-high 48 points with 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who won their sixth straight and 11th in a row at home.
Magic 117, Bucks 92
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Vince Carter overcame a hard collision to score 25 points, rallying the Orlando Magic for a 117-92 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Carter was thrust under the courtside seats on a hard hit by Ersan Ilyasova late in the third quarter that gave Orlando a brief scare. The Magic’s star shooting guard shook off the pain and never exited, igniting a 17-2 run that helped them pull away.
Grizzlies 121, Pacers 110
INDIANAPOLIS ó Rudy Gay scored 31 points to lead Memphis over Indiana, the Pacers’ eighth straight loss.
Zach Randolph had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Marc Gasol added 21 points and 10 boards for the Grizzlies.