EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The roars of the crowd and the shouts from the public address announcer made it feel like this was a huge win.
For the Nets, though, there wasn't much celebrating. Just relief.
The Nets notched their 10th victory Monday, avoiding any chance of tying for the worst record in NBA history by beating the shorthanded Spurs 90-84.
"You don't thank God, but you don't want to go down as the worst team in the history of the game," reserve guard Keyon Dooling said.
Brook Lopez had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who improved to 10-64. The 1972-73 76ers, 9-73, will remain the league's worst team.
With Manu Ginobili (back spasms) joining Tony Parker on the injured list and Tim Duncan having a poor shooting game (6-of-15 from the field, 13 points and 12 rebounds), the Spurs had few answers on the second night of a back-to-back after an impressive victory at Boston on Sunday.
Nets 90, Spurs 84
SAN ANTONIO (84): Jefferson 5-11 6-7 16, Duncan 6-15 1-4 13, McDyess 0-2 0-0 0, Hill 8-19 2-2 19, Bogans 0-2 1-4 1, Mason 3-5 0-0 7, Bonner 4-11 0-1 10, Blair 5-9 1-2 11, Temple 1-4 0-0 3, Hairston 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-82 11-20 84.
NEW JERSEY (90): Hayes 1-5 0-0 3, Yi 3-12 2-2 8, Lopez 7-14 8-9 22, Harris 6-16 4-6 17, Lee 7-13 3-3 19, Williams 4-13 4-4 13, Douglas-Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Humphries 2-4 0-0 4, Boone 0-1 0-0 0, Dooling 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 32-85 21-24 90.
San Antonio 33 13 20 18— 84
New Jersey 27 16 19 28— 90
3-Point Goals—San Antonio 5-15 (Bonner 2-7, Mason 1-1, Temple 1-1, Hill 1-3, Jefferson 0-1, Bogans 0-2), New Jersey 5-19 (Lee 2-3, Williams 1-3, Harris 1-4, Hayes 1-5, Yi 0-1, Dooling 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—San Antonio 66 (Duncan 12), New Jersey 47 (Lopez 12). Assists—San Antonio 23 (Jefferson 5), New Jersey 19 (Harris 9). Total Fouls—San Antonio 19, New Jersey 19. Technicals—San Antonio defensive three second 2. A—13,053 (18,974).
Raptors 103, Bobcats 101
TORONTO (103): Wright 7-11 0-0 15, Bosh 10-19 2-3 22, Bargnani 6-14 1-2 16, Calderon 4-8 2-3 10, Weems 3-5 0-2 6, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Turkoglu 4-9 0-0 11, Evans 0-1 1-2 1, Jack 2-5 7-8 12, DeRozan 3-5 2-4 8. Totals 40-79 15-24 103.
CHARLOTTE (101): Wallace 7-15 3-4 17, Diaw 5-12 0-0 11, Ratliff 0-1 3-4 3, Felton 7-12 0-0 18, Jackson 5-13 6-7 18, Chandler 1-1 6-8 8, Hughes 3-6 5-6 13, Augustin 3-6 0-0 9, Graham 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 32-69 25-31 101.
Toronto 18 25 29 31— 103
Charlotte 18 29 31 23— 101
3-Point Goals—Toronto 8-18 (Bargnani 3-5, Turkoglu 3-6, Jack 1-2, Wright 1-4, Calderon 0-1), Charlotte 12-24 (Felton 4-5, Augustin 3-3, Hughes 2-3, Jackson 2-5, Diaw 1-4, Graham 0-1, Wallace 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Toronto 48 (Bosh 11), Charlotte 43 (Wallace 8). Assists—Toronto 22 (Calderon 7), Charlotte 29 (Felton, Diaw 7). Total Fouls—Toronto 25, Charlotte 20. Technicals—Bargnani, Wright, Toronto defensive three second, Jackson. A—14,534 (19,077).
Hornets 108, Lakers 100
L.A. LAKERS (100): Artest 6-14 1-1 14, Odom 4-13 1-3 10, Gasol 11-21 4-4 26, Fisher 3-11 0-0 7, Bryant 10-18 9-11 31, Farmar 3-8 0-1 8, Brown 0-4 2-2 2, Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Mbenga 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 38-91 17-22 100.
NEW ORLEANS (108): Peterson 1-5 2-4 5, West 7-15 6-8 20, Okafor 3-8 2-5 8, Paul 5-11 4-4 15, Thornton 5-13 5-6 18, Posey 3-5 4-4 13, Collison 6-9 3-3 17, Gray 1-1 0-0 2, Songaila 5-6 0-0 10. Totals 36-73 26-34 108.
L.A. Lakers 22 20 21 37— 100
New Orleans 27 23 27 31— 108
3-Point Goals—L.A. Lakers 7-29 (Farmar 2-4, Bryant 2-5, Odom 1-3, Fisher 1-7, Artest 1-8, Brown 0-2), New Orleans 10-23 (Posey 3-5, Thornton 3-9, Collison 2-2, Paul 1-2, Peterson 1-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—L.A. Lakers 56 (Gasol 22), New Orleans 47 (Okafor 13). Assists—L.A. Lakers 18 (Bryant 6), New Orleans 22 (Paul 13). Total Fouls—L.A. Lakers 27, New Orleans 20. A—18,206 (17,188).
Mavericks 109, Nuggets 93
DENVER (93): Anthony 3-16 3-3 10, Nene 3-4 8-12 14, Petro 0-2 0-0 0, Billups 3-14 4-4 11, Afflalo 2-6 0-0 4, Allen 2-5 2-2 7, Smith 10-16 4-6 27, Andersen 0-0 0-0 0, Graham 4-5 2-3 10, Lawson 5-9 0-0 10, Carter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-78 23-30 93.
DALLAS (109): Marion 9-13 3-3 21, Nowitzki 7-17 16-17 34, Haywood 5-7 0-2 10, Kidd 2-6 2-2 8, Butler 4-11 0-0 10, Terry 6-10 0-0 15, Najera 0-2 0-0 0, Beaubois 2-7 0-0 5, Dampier 2-4 0-0 4, Carroll 1-2 0-0 2, Stevenson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 38-81 21-24 109.
Denver 23 23 23 24— 93
Dallas 31 24 24 30— 109
3-Point Goals—Denver 6-20 (Smith 3-6, Anthony 1-1, Allen 1-1, Billups 1-7, Carter 0-1, Graham 0-1, Afflalo 0-1, Lawson 0-2), Dallas 12-22 (Nowitzki 4-5, Terry 3-5, Butler 2-2, Kidd 2-4, Beaubois 1-4, Carroll 0-1, Najera 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Denver 52 (Anthony 9), Dallas 47 (Nowitzki 10). Assists—Denver 12 (Billups 6), Dallas 27 (Kidd, Nowitzki 10). Total Fouls—Denver 20, Dallas 25. Technicals—Denver defensive three second, Terry. A—20,085 (19,200).
Jazz 103, Knicks 98
NEW YORK (98): Gallinari 2-10 4-4 9, Walker 3-5 0-0 9, Lee 7-9 2-2 16, McGrady 4-8 5-7 13, Douglas 2-7 1-2 5, Harrington 8-20 7-10 26, House 3-8 0-0 6, Rodriguez 6-10 0-0 14. Totals 35-77 19-25 98.
UTAH (103): Miles 4-9 0-0 9, Boozer 11-16 4-5 26, Okur 6-10 0-0 13, Williams 8-16 2-3 23, Matthews 5-8 0-0 12, Millsap 5-8 4-8 14, Korver 1-9 2-2 4, Price 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 41-80 12-18 103.
New York 30 30 27 11— 98
Utah 44 20 23 16— 103
3-Point Goals—New York 9-28 (Walker 3-5, Harrington 3-9, Rodriguez 2-3, Gallinari 1-6, House 0-1, McGrady 0-2, Douglas 0-2), Utah 9-16 (Williams 5-8, Matthews 2-3, Okur 1-1, Miles 1-2, Price 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—New York 45 (Harrington 17), Utah 48 (Boozer 14). Assists—New York 16 (McGrady 6), Utah 24 (Williams 14). Total Fouls—New York 19, Utah 21. A—19,911 (19,911).
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