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Vince Carter underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle today, the Nets announced this afternoon.

The procedure, performed by Dr. Martin O'Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, included the removal of multiple loose bodies and a bone spur from the ankle, as well as a debridement of the ankle.

Carter will be on crutches for several weeks, and then begin rehab. He is expected to be fully recovered by the time the team begins training camp in late September.

The draft should bring quality. Trades are tricky, but they will be explored. And the Nets are armed with enough exception money to make more than a window-shopping appearance in the free-agent market.

When you win just 34 games and fail to make the playoffs for the first time in seven years, you have to figure change will be a steady offseason companion.

"We'll look to make some changes," team president Rod Thorn acknowledged yesterday at the start of his annual postseason, state of the Nets summation. "The ways to change your team are the draft, free agency or trades. We'll be looking at all three."

Thorn said Vince Carter is almost certainly headed for arthroscopic ankle surgery, management wants to keep the team's three key free agents and Kiki Vandeweghe is on the verge of a GM-type position. Thorn supplied little that hasn't been pretty much common knowledge even before the Nets completed their horrific season that contained the trade of Jason Kidd. So change will be forthcoming, but Thorn stressed it doesn't mean a complete, total overhaul. He said he would be "comfortable" if the four main offensive pieces - Carter, Richard Jefferson, Devin Harris and Nenad Krstic - returned en masse.

"I'm comfortable with it if that's what we end up with," said Thorn, giving high praise to Carter for excellent leadership after the break plus statistics that were bettered only by LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

Carter and Jefferson would be tough to trade, if the Nets want to go that route, because of their contracts. Krstic is an unrestricted free agent, so the Nets can match any offer (within reason). And Harris is signed through 2013.

The draft, a good, "deep" one, Thorn said, is impossible to forecast now. But the Nets, with picks at 10, 21 and 40, will find help. The 10th spot "historically" is a good pick, Thorn said.

As for free agency, the first scenario is addressing their own guys.

"Our three free agents we would like to, if we can, sign them," Thorn said.

Bostjan Nachbar and DeSegana Diop are unrestricted free agents. The Nets want to keep Nachbar without overspending, but they expect to see competition.

"A lot of teams in the league like Boki. I think there will be a marketplace for him," Thorn said.

The same scenario could apply for Krstic, the restricted free agent. The Nets can match, but they are not likely to go to a full mid-level exception. Thorn seems to prefer breaking up the mid-level for several guys.
Regarding areas to be addressed, start with defense, continue to shooting.

"We had a major problem on the defensive end of the court this year, not being able to guard the basket and not being able to keep wing players in front of us," Thorn said. "We need one other guy who can make a jump shot because we struggled a lot of nights when teams zoned us or loaded up on the strong side."

Improvements must come, because a 34-win, no-playoff season is unacceptable.

"Whether it's what we have or whether it's with some additions - and I think it's a combination - we need to get better because the league is getting better," Thorn said. "Look at some of the teams that are starting to have some success in the East or who have not had a lot of success. They're getting better. So from both within and without we have to try and get better."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 10 (AP) -- The Boston Celtics won one for Doc Rivers and sent the New Jersey Nets a message in the process.

Hours after attending the funeral of his father in Illinois, Rivers saw the new-look Celtics remain the NBA's only undefeated team and personally show the Nets they are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division with an impressive 112-101 win on Saturday night.

"A long day for me. A tough day for me,'' said Rivers, clad in a dark suit and tie. "I was going to stay at home and my mom said 'Go to the game.' That's what my dad would want. It's still very emotional. I needed this probably more than anybody. I told them that after the game.' '

The victory was the fifth straight for Boston, which is off to its best start since winning six in a row to start the 1987-88 season. That was the last time the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got to the Eastern Conference finals.

Boston's new big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen put on another impressive performance against the Nets (4-2).

Pierce, who was scoreless in the first quarter, had 13 of his 28 in the third when Boston turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 21-point margin. Allen added 27 points and Garnett had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Rivers had told the team on Friday that he did not know whether he would return after attending the funeral of Grady Alexander Rivers Sr., in Mayfield, Ill.

However, the coach walked into the locker room about 75 minutes before the game.

"It was a great boost of confidence,'' Pierce said. "It was a tough situation for him. He could have easily not come. It definitely brought my spirits up when I looked up and I saw him.''

Garnett said having Rivers back gave the team a shot of energy.

"It was a great example,'' Garnett said. "Everybody perked up like little kids when their pops comes through the door. It was a cool moment.''

While the Celtics have become a scoring machine with their new lineup, they also showed they could play defense, holding New Jersey without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the decisive third quarter.

"It's one game,'' said Richard Jefferson, who led the Nets for the sixth straight game with 28 points. "We're not going to play our best ball now. Right now, they are on a roll. They are not going to go undefeated. I will stand by that.''

Vince Carter added 17 before leaving late in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. Jason Kidd added 17 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

The Nets trailed by 23 points early in the fourth quarter and never got closer than eight points.

Eddie House added 13 points and Celtics rookie Glen Davis also made a major contribution with six points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes when the game was on the line.

New Jersey got off to a fast start, shooting 67 percent from the field in the first quarter.

Boston took the lead for good midway through the second quarter when Pierce converted a three-point play to ignite a 13-5 spurt. House, a former Nets player was booed when he entered the game, added a 3-pointer in the run, Davis put in a rebound, Kendrick Perkins scored in the lane and Pierce capped the run nailing a wide-open 3-pointer for a 52-45 lead.

The third quarter was all Boston. Pierce hit a layup and scored seven points in a 13-3 spurt to start the period. New Jersey missed its first nine shots and didn't score a basket until Carter drove the lane for a layup with 3:39 left in the period.

A little more than two minutes later Carter was gone. The eight-time All Star drove the lane for a big slam dunk with 1:23 to play. His left foot came down but his right foot rolled after landing on Pierce's foot. He limped off.

Notes: Nets C Nenad Krstic had the misfortune to have a rebound slip out of his hands and go into his own basket. Perkins got credit. ... Garnett got a technical for arguing a call. ... Boston outrebounded New Jersey 49-34. ... Boston F Brian Scalabrine was released from a Massachusetts hospital after being held overnight because of a concussion suffered late in Friday night's game.


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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 8 (AP) -- Hustling for rebounds, helping out on defense and getting another big effort from Richard Jefferson has the New Jersey Nets off to their best start in five years.

Jefferson scored 25 points and grabbed an offensive rebound to set up his two game-winning free throws with 24 seconds to play as the Nets rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit for an 87-85 victory over the winless Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

After blowing a six-point lead over the final 1:53, the Nets made two big plays to send Washington to its fourth straight loss.

Jefferson made the first, grabbing the rebound of a missed 3-pointer by Vince Carter.

"Your eyes get real big sometimes when it's a tied game and someone takes a shot,'' Jefferson said. "A lot of times people turn around and look at the ball. No one boxed me out and I had a free run at it and the ball bounced perfectly to me.''

Once Jefferson had the ball, he was fouled by Antonio Daniels. That was money for the Nets. Jefferson made both free throws, finishing a 12-for-12 night and making him 46-of-47 for the season, including 21 in a row.

The Nets' fourth victory in five games wasn't secured until Antoine Wright forced Gilbert Arenas to the corner in the waning seconds, and Carter deflected his off-balance shot.

"I got a finger or two on it,'' said Carter, who had 24 points, including 12-of-14 from the line. "I wanted to let Antoine know I was there and I just tried to contest it and make it as tough a shot as possible. He is still capable of hitting shots like that.''

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan had no problem with Arenas going for the win, since he came up big so often last season.

"He said, `Let's win it,' and we tried to win it,'' Jordan said.

The Nets made things tough on Arenas by switching to a zone for the final play.

"I should have stayed straight up going toward the basket instead of going right,'' said Arenas, who had 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting. "Once I went right, there was no time left and Vince jumped pretty quick. ... It was just a bad shot on my part.''

Arenas, who is coming off knee surgery, has struggled with his shooting this season. He is 27-of-76 from the field (35.5 percent).

Bostjan Nachbar had 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, when the Nets shot 65 percent.

Antawn Jamison had 24 points and nine rebounds for Washington, while Caron Butler added 21 points.

The 0-4 start is the first for Washington since 1992-93.

"It's embarrassing to start off 0-4. Last year, we started off 4-0,'' Arenas said. "We got off to a good run tonight from the start and we hadn't seen that all year. We'll get better.''

Trailing 85-79 with 1:53 to play, the Wizards tied the game with two defensive stops and six free throws, the last two by Butler with 39 seconds left.

The Nets then made the plays to win.

Jefferson hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play in an 8-0 run that gave New Jersey an 85-79 lead with 1:53 to play.

Over the next 74 seconds, Butler hit four free throws and Arenas made two to tie the game.

Coming into the game there was some question whether Arenas would play after getting fluid drained from his left knee.

Not only did he start, Arenas hit his first three shots, including two 3-pointers to spark a 16-2 spurt. The Wizards' lead was 12 points at the end of the quarter and it ballooned to 37-17 5 minutes into the second when Jamison hit consecutive baskets.

The Nets called a timeout and switched to a zone. It worked perfectly as New Jersey finished the half on a 19-4 spurt to close the gap to 41-36. Carter had seven points in the burst and Jefferson five.

Notes: Butler tied his career high with seven steals. ... After averaging 18.3 offensive rebounds in its first three games, Washington had eight, including none in the first half. ... Jefferson has 6,778 points as a Nets, moving into fifth place all-time ahead of Chris Morris (6,762). ... Washington has lost six straight overall to the Nets and 13 of 14 in New Jersey. ... Backup Nets C Jamaal Magloire had a season-high 12 rebounds.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.(AP) -- After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, a healthy Richard Jefferson is now carrying the New Jersey Nets.

Jefferson scored 25 points and Antoine Wright added 15 to lead the New Jersey Nets to an 87-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.

It marked the fourth time in as many games that Jefferson has led the Nets in scoring and stolen the spotlight from Jason Kidd and Vince Carter.

"He is playing at an All-Star level,'' Carter said of Jefferson. "He is definitely All-Star caliber and this year is no different. He is playing some of his best basketball. We're going to keep pushing him to keep playing that style and ride it out.''

Jefferson, who missed a big chunk of last season because of right ankle surgery, is averaging 25.8 points while shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

Jefferson credited much of his success to a new offensive approach that stresses more ball movement in the half court and a fewer fastbreaks.

"Our offense isn't anything different,'' Jefferson said. "Were not reinventing the wheel. Were not putting in the Princeton offense. Were just changing our style offensively. Were not scoring a ton of points, but were just executing at the right times.''

Kidd had nine points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in nearly collecting his second straight triple-double and helping New Jersey win for the third time in four games.

Carter had 12 points with another miserable shooting effort from the field (6-of-16), but he made two clutch baskets late to hold off the Hawks.

"We were right there at the end of the game,'' coach Mike Woodson said after a Hawks' rally fell just short for the second straight road game. "We had our chances, but we can't keep putting ourselves in this position.''

Josh Smith and backup forward Josh Childress had 18 points apiece to lead the Hawks, who were limited to 38 percent shooting from the field. All-Star guard Joe Johnson added 15 points and Marvin Williams had 13, all in the first half.

The Nets broke a 53-all tie and took control with a 16-4 spurt in the final 5:07 of the third quarter. Seven different players scored during the run as New Jersey limited the Hawks to one basket.

"We've had two solid defensive performances in a row,'' Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "As we know last year, our biggest disappointment was being a selective defensive team. But now, we've had three of four games where we were good defensively. We want to build an identity as a team that guards every night.''

New Jersey built the lead to 14 points early in the fourth quarter, before Smith, Childress and Johnson got the Hawks back in the game by combining for all the points in a 16-4 spurt. Smith's 3-pointer with about five minutes to play got Atlanta to within two at 77-75.

Carter then drove the baseline for a jam and Wright hit a layup after Hawks rookie Al Horford missed two free throws to push the lead to 81-75 with 4:14 to go.

The Hawks never got closer than three points the rest of the way, but the Nets couldn't put them away.

Kidd missed two free throws with 49.4 seconds to play and Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 39.3 seconds to go to cut the Nets lead to 85-82.

New Jersey then held the ball and Wright drove the left side of the lane for a layup with one second on the shot clock, giving New Jersey a five-point lead.

"I knew the clock was going down and I knew it was very low,'' said Wright. "I knew I didn't have enough time to dunk it. I just had to get it up there. I think it's just having poise.''

Johnson then missed another 3-pointer and New Jersey's Darrell Armstrong was fouled. He also missed two free throws with 4.6 seconds to play.

Notes: After making his first 25 free throws this season, Jefferson banged his first off the rim. ... G Speedy Claxton (knee), C Zaza Pachulia (knee) and C Lorenzen Wright (foot) were inactive for the third straight game for the Hawks with injuries. ... It took 82 minutes over four games but Nets F Jason Collins scored his first basket on a putback with 2:45 left in the third quarter. ... New Jersey has won 11 of the last 12 games at the Meadowlands against Atlanta. ... The Hawks were 23-of-32 from the free throw line. ... Carter has hit 18-of-55 from the field this season, or 32.7 percent.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 3 (AP) -- Jason Kidd had a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Richard Jefferson scored 22 points to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 93-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

Vince Carter added 18 points for the Nets.

Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 16 points, and Kyle Korver had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Kidd thwarted a late Sixers rally with a 3-pointer from the left side to give the Nets an 86-80 lead. Kidd was dependable as he's always been for New Jersey, posting his 88th career triple-double and 50th with the Nets.

The Nets needed that kind of effort after they lost 106-69 on Friday night at home against Toronto.

Bostjan Nachbar, though, delivered for the Nets off the bench in the fourth, hitting a pair of 3s that kept them from letting the game slip away. Nachbar, who sank his only 3s of the game in the quarter was on the floor to open the fourth when coach Lawrence Frank decided to mix up the rotation.

The Nets opened the fourth with Carter and four reserves while Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, looking for a way to get the Sixers going, started the period will five reserves on the floor.

Korver sank his first 3 to pull the Sixers within five. Rodney Carney picked Carter clean and turned the steal into a fastbreak dunk.

Nachbar, though, answered each of those baskets with 3-pointers to put New Jersey up 75-67.

Korver and Lou Williams have been the only reliable offensive options for the Sixers off the bench. Williams converted a steal into a dunk and then scored on a driving layup that made it 77-73. Samuel Dalembert, who scored 13 points, sank two free throws and it was only a two-point deficit.

Iguodala's 3 sliced the lead to 83-79, but the Sixers never got closer than three points over the final 4 minutes.

Dalembert missed 4 of 8 free throws in the waning minutes that squelched all hope of a rally for the Sixers, who opened a four-game homestand after playing the first two on the road.

The Nets rebounded from a woeful first half to shoot 41 percent from the floor. Not bad, considering the Nets missed 15 of 21 shots in the first quarter.

Notes: Philadelphia's starters came down through the stands during pregame introductions. ... Iguodala thanked the fans for their support in a pregame speech and told them he hoped for an exciting season. ... The Sixers play 14 of their first 23 games at home after starting last season with 22 of their 33 on the road.

Toronto 106, New Jersey 69

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 2 (AP) -- Payback was sweet for the Toronto Raptors.

Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points Friday night to lead Toronto to a 106-69 victory over New Jersey in the first meeting between the teams since the Nets ousted the Raptors in the opening round of last season's playoffs.

"It added a lot to it,'' said Chris Bosh who had 15 points. "We did lose in this building in the playoffs. It was a significant factor.''

Juan Dixon scored 14 for Toronto. Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker all had 10 as the Raptors set a team record for margin of victory in a road game. Their previous best was 33 at San Antonio on Feb. 19, 1997.

"We played well,'' Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "I didn't realize what the score was because we were on our guys about playing defense. It was a good win, but is only game 2 with 80 more to go.''

Richard Jefferson was the one bright spot for Nets with 27 points.

"We didn't play very well,'' Jefferson said. "To their credit, they shot the ball extremely well.''

Nets stars Vince Carter and Jason Kidd had dismal nights. Carter scored only seven points against his former team, while Kidd had two.

"We took one straight in the mouth,'' Carter said.

Toronto broke open the game with a 17-2 run to start the second quarter and grab a 38-23 lead. Calderon sparked the run with six points.

The Nets, other than Jefferson, were ice cold. He had 13 points in the period on 3-for-4 shooting from the field, including a 3-pointer. He also made all six free throws, giving him 22 points for the half. The rest of the Nets shot 3-for-11 from the field in the second quarter.

The Nets narrowed the gap late in the quarter, but Bosh closed the half by intercepting a pass and beating the buzzer with a shot from beyond the center stripe to give the Raptors a 56-41 lead at the half.

"It's line of vision,'' Bosh said. "I lined up with the goal and I thought I had a good shot. I'm just happy it went in and I think it kind of sparked us.''

It deflated the Nets, as Toronto crushed New Jersey to start the third. After Nenad Krstic scored the first basket of the half for the Nets, the Raptors poured in the next 18 points for an insurmountable 74-43 lead. Parker and Bargnani had 3-pointers in the run. The Raptors closed out the period with an 80-53 advantage.

Notes: Carter scored his 15,000th point with 1:57 remaining in the first period. He became the third-fastest active player to reach that level, doing it in his 623rd game. Shaquille O'Neal got there in 547 games. Allen Iverson needed 557. ... The Raptors ended a six-game losing streak in New Jersey, including three in last season's playoffs. ... Malik Allen was called for a flagrant foul on Calderon in the fourth quarter. ... Jefferson hasn't missed a free throw yet. He has made all 21 to start the season.