Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant went at each other like you knew they would Friday night at the Meadowlands, and each got their fair share of points, but neither could really get going offensively. Carter scored 24 points on 9-of-22 shooting and Bryant scored 24 of his own on 9-of-24. Instead, it was Nenad Krstic who was the star, scoring 26 points on 11-of-15 from the floor, the final two coming on a huge tip-in of a Carter miss to give the Nets a three point lead with 13 seconds to go in the game. Carter then stepped up defensively on the final Laker possession, forcing Bryant into a tough three-pointer that fell way short as time expired. It was a tight game throughout, with neither team ever holding a lead more than eight points. Jason Kidd shot just 2-for-12 from the field, but dished out 14 assists, hit a big three down the stretch and played lockdown defense on Bryant for most of the final three quarters. Richard Jefferson, along with Krstic, carried the Nets offensively in the first half and finished with 16 points.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Carter smothers Kobe as Nets edge Lakers - NBA.com (Ticker)
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- New Jersey 92, LA Lakers 89 - David Porter - AP
- Game 64 Thoughts… - NetsDaily Blog
- Carter wins a different head-to-head battle - Will Weiss - YES Network
- In Night of Star Power, an Understudy Shines - John Eligon - New York Times
- Carter locks up Kobe's last shot - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Nets Put Kobe, Lakers in Sack - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Nets get defensive vs. Kobe - Ohm Youngmisuk - New York Daily News
- Lakers falling apart - Ross Siler - Los Angeles Daily News
- Lakers let another game get away - Broderick Turner - Riverside Press-Enterprise
- New Jersey contains Bryant - Bob Considine - New Brunswick Home News Tribune
- Tired Old Story for Lakers - Mike Bresnahan - Los Angeles Times
- Vince Carter Interview (Video) - Mark Jackson - YES Network
- Nenad Krstic Interview (Video) - Leslie Boghosian - YES Network
- Jason Kidd Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Richard Jefferson Interview (Video) - Leslie Boghosian - YES Network
- Lawrence Frank Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Photo Gallery: Nets vs. Lakers - Bill Kostroun - AP
- Nets stop Kobe in crunch time - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Nets counter Jackson's moves - Kevin Ding - Orange County Register