CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With team president Rod Thorn on the other side of the continent mapping out the Nets’ optimistic future in continued meetings with incoming Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets completed their “One for the Regular Season Thumb” quest, receiving a big assist from a stomach bug.
And they did so in the shadow of tomorrow’s 3 p.m. trading deadline. Hey, after they shot 52 percent, posted a dominant 47-36 rebounding edge, and led from start to finish for the first time this season in a 103-94 victory over the Bobcats, why would you want to break up this bunch?
One of the out-of-the-rotation guys who has kept his phone nearby at all times, Josh Boone, emerged from exile as the endgame hero last night with three huge plays in the final 6:49 — a tap-in score, a putback dunk and an offensive rebound that led to a dagger 3-pointer by Jarvis Hayes with 58.5 seconds left. He finished with seven points, eight rebounds and one block in 16 minutes.
“It meant a lot,” said Boone, who had not played in eight straight games but took over the minutes that had been going to Tony Battie, out with a stomach virus. “It meant a lot to get another chance, but ultimately the main [thing] is that we won. We won the first game coming out of the break and we’re going to try to build some momentum and that’s what we need.”
And now the Nets just need five more wins in the remaining 29 games. It sounds doable, but remember it took the Nets 53 games to get to five wins. It was their second road win of the season and the second time they beat the Bobcats, who no doubt sought immediate therapy.
“We’ve lost a lot of defensive intensity,” Charlotte coach Larry Brown said.
“We just match up well,” Devin Harris said.
Harris had a terrific all-around game (17 points, nine assists, six rebounds) after spending much of the All-Star break at Disney World. “The happiest place on Earth,” he called it.
Aside from The Swamp, of course. Courtney Lee, who carried the Nets early, finished with 21 points and Kris Humphries had 13 for a Nets bench that outscored Bobcats reserves, 31-17. Gerald Wallace had 21 points for the 26-26 Bobcats.
“Everybody contributed,” interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “Everybody came with energy. Our bench was tremendous.”
Thorn declined any comment whatsoever on his meetings with Prokhorov in Vancouver. But with tomorrow’s deadline nearing, Thorn addressed the trade market. He doesn’t foresee any big deals.
“I’d say probably nothing [will happen],” said Thorn, who is expected back tonight when the Nets play Miami. “But you never know. Somebody could call looking for an expiring contract and then we’d be in business.”