CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — Vince Carter forced overtime with an acrobatic dunk at the buzzer, then took over in the extra period in a 40-point outing that led the New Jersey Nets to a 113-107 win over the undermanned Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.
Carter bailed out the Nets, who snapped a two-game losing streak and moved into a three-way tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference with idle Orlando and Indiana.
With the Nets trailing by two in the closing seconds of regulation, Jason Kidd launched a desperation 3-pointer from the left wing that was well short. Carter caught the air ball in front of the rim and in one motion dunked it behind his head as the horn sounded.
Josh Boone added a career-high 21 points and Richard Jefferson scored 16 for the Nets, who avoided an embarrassing loss to the severely short-handed Bobcats.
Matt Carroll matched his career high with 27 points and Walter Herrmann added a career-high 20 for Charlotte.
76ers 93, Heat 85
At Miami, Andre Iguodala scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, Kyle Korver had 11 points in the final quarter and Philadelphia rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat struggling Miami.
Iguodala, who was in the lineup after a sore back forced him to miss a game Friday with Charlotte and end a streak of 232 straight appearances, added seven rebounds and six assists for Philadelphia, which has won 10 of its last 14 to remain alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Korver finished with 17 points.
Jason Williams scored 21 points with six assists and Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points for the Heat, who have lost three of their last four since their nine-game winning streak was snapped.
Clippers 111, Wizards 105
At Los Angeles, Corey Maggette scored nine of his 29 points in the final 77 seconds, Elton Brand added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Los Angeles stretched its winning streak to four games.
Chris Kaman had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who extended their lead over the idle Golden State Warriors to a full-game in the race for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. The Southeast Division leading Wizards stayed a half-game ahead of Miami, which lost to Philadelphia.
Gilbert Arenas, playing at Staples Center for the first time since scoring a franchise-record 60 points here against the Lakers in an overtime victory on Dec. 17, missed his first four shots and finished 9-for-25 from the field for 30 points.
The Wizards lost starting forward Andray Blachte after he sprained his right knee with 6:23 left in the third quarter.
Jazz 118, Grizzlies 108
At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 28 points and 15 rebounds for Utah.
Reserve Matt Harpring scored 24 points, and Deron Williams added 21 points and 13 assists to lead the Jazz, who have won five straight and 11 of 12 at home.
Andrei Kirilenko had 12 points and four blocks, and Paul Millsap added 11 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Jazz inch closer to clinching their first playoff berth since the 2002-03 season.
Dahntay Jones had a career-high 26 points, and Pau Gasol had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who began a six-game road trip. Rookie Tarence Kinsey added a career-high 20 points for Memphis, which has an NBA-worst 5-29 road record.
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