OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The New Jersey Nets were reminded of how

much easier things are when they play from ahead.

Vince Carter scored 27 points as New Jersey held off a furious

fourth-quarter rally and beat New Orleans 95-84 Sunday night, the

Hornets' season-worst sixth straight loss.

The Nets won for only the second time in their last seven games

and gave third-year coach Lawrence Frank his 100th win with the

team. The man Frank replaced, Hornets coach Byron Scott, now is 0-4

against his former team.

"I think (our execution) has been under scrutiny of late and it

starts as a team," New Jersey guard Jason Kidd said. "We all

support one another and I thought tonight was a great example of

those guys coming off the bench and giving us a big lift."

The Atlantic Division-leading Nets shot 52 percent from the

field and held the Hornets to 41 percent. The Hornets had won nine

of their last 10 games before the All-Star break.

The Hornets fell a half-game behind Sacramento for the eighth

and final playoff spot in the Western Conference after the Kings

beat Dallas 85-80 Sunday night.

"We are digging ourselves a big hole in these games," Hornets

rookie guard Chris Paul said. "Maybe what we need is to have a

reality check, and fall out of the playoffs, and (realize) that the

playoffs can be taken away from us."

New Jersey led 70-51 late in the third quarter, but New Orleans

pulled within 82-78 with 2:42 left on a driving layup by Paul, who

led the Hornets with 17 points and seven assists. The Hornets had a

chance to pull even closer, but Rasual Butler missed a long jumper

with 1:55 left.

Kidd's 3-pointer with 1:40 left gave the Nets a seven-point

cushion, and New Jersey went 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the

final 48 seconds to seal the win. Carter, who made four of those

free throws, finished 10-of-10 from the line. New Jersey made 26 of

28 free throws.

"We had that energy," Carter said. "We had a lead and our

bench kept the lead. We didn't have to play catch-up, which is real

tough to do. We had a comfortable lead and we were able to play

basketball and not overdo it (or) rush."

Kidd just missed what would have been his sixth triple-double

this season, finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds and nine

assists. The double-double was his 23rd of the season.

Richard Jefferson added 19 points for New Jersey.

The Nets never trailed, scoring the first eight points and

making nine of their first 14 field-goal attempts. The Hornets

missed their first six shots and didn't make their first basket

until 5½ minutes into the game.

"It hasn't been since the (All-Star) break where we were able

to come out and do what we did to make it 8-0, and it started on

the defensive end," Frank said. "We played really good defense in

the first half, forcing them to shoot some shots with just three or

four seconds left on the shot clock."

New Jersey twice pushed its first-half lead to 14 points, the

latter time after Carter scored seven straight points, capped by a

3-pointer with 2:38 left in the half. The Hornets closed the half

on an 8-2 run to cut New Jersey's lead to 46-38.

A three-point play by Paul brought New Orleans within 51-45 in

the third quarter, but the Nets scored the next nine points,

rebuilding their lead to 15. New Jersey's lead peaked at 19 points.

"We are playing soft right now," Scott said. "Every team we

are going against is thinking we are soft and the only way to

change that is to not be soft.

"Obviously we are going to have to try some different things,

because right now we're not getting the job done."Game notes
The game drew 19,198 fans to the Ford Center, the Hornets'

17th sellout this season. ... New Jersey is 27-0 this season when

leading after three quarters. ... The Hornets took 21 more shots

than the Nets but made just two more.