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However, not all went right for the Nets on this night as starting center Brook Lopez rolled his right ankle and left the locker room on crutches. Lopez, who made his season debut Feb. 19 after missing the Nets' first 32 games while recovering from a broken right foot, had an X-ray but will be reevaluated on Monday, according to Johnson.
"It's a tough situation for him, especially coming back from the foot situation," Johnson said. "We're going to get him checked out tomorrow. We'll know more when we find out."
Afterward, Bobcats coach Paul Silas wasn't apologizing for his team's approach to defending Williams.
"You can do one of two things: You can try to stop him and double him and leave other players wide open or guard everybody," Silas said. "I thought that's mainly what kept us in the game. Nobody else was doing anything (for them). It gave us a chance."
Corey Maggette had 24 points and Gerald Henderson added 15 for the Bobcats, who've now lost five straight and 21 of 22.
Williams did just about everything right, adding six rebounds and seven assists. He also converted a four-point play after getting fouled while knocking down a 3-pointer from the wing.
With the Nets leading 96-94 with 1:04 remaining, Kris Humphries missed two free throws but Sheldon Williams got a key momentum-turning rebound and called timeout. Deron Williams hit a big jumper to give the Nets a four-point lead and Sheldon Williams followed by converting a three-point play off a pretty pass from Jordan Farmar.
The Bobcats would cut the lead to two with 3.5 seconds left, but MarShon Brooks knocked down one of two free throws with 1.7 seconds left. The Bobcats had a final chance to tie the game but Augustin's off-balance heave from 20 feet didn't hit the rim.
"We didn't give up," Silas said. "That was a great thing. In the last 1.7 seconds, we didn't execute that play particularly well. But we did have a chance. That shows me that we are getting there. It's certainly not there yet. But we are striving to get there. At least we're not just giving up and letting teams just run over us. If we continue to do this, we'll be OK."
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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