Now that the season’s winding down, every single game is more important than the last for the New Jersey Nets. Tonight Vince Carter continued to lead his team to a playoff berth, scoring 27 points with 6 rebounds and 7 assists in a 106-91 victory over the New York Knicks. Carter wasn’t the only net to have double digits in points though; Nenad Kristic scored 22 and Richard Jefferson scored 26. With the victory the Nets improve to 30-41 while the lowly Knicks sink to 19-51.

Because head coach Isiah Thomas wanted to play his rookies for the last 2 games, Zach Randolph saw his first on court action since the 22nd. Not much was doing offensively tonight for New York; Randolph scored 17 points, Jamal Crawford scored 26 and rookie Wilson Chandler scored 13 but the Knicks only received 16 bench points. The Knicks have now lost 5 consecutive games, and shouldn’t start winning until Isiah Thomas stops giving rookie players starts.