Vince Carter scored 33 points, including a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line to lead the Nets to a 104-98 win over the Cavaliers.

Lebron James scored 28 points, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 20 points and 18 rebounds in a losing effort.

The win bumped the Nets' record to 24-32, trailing the Celtics by just four games in the Atlantic Division.

Jason Kidd chipped in 14 points and 12 assists.

One day after scoring 29 points in Charlotte, Michael Redd scored just 11 points, but the result was the same, a convincing Milwaukee win.  The 100-81 win is the Bucks fifth in seventh game.

One day after telling reporters that he wants to 'retire' with Milwaukee, he continued to field questions regarding his status with the club.

``I'm not worried at all, not worried at all,'' Redd said. ``When I say that, I meant it. I believe that I'll be here.''

As the New Jersey Nets prepare for the Toronto Raptors in the Meadowlands, former Raptor and surging Net Vince Carter insists there will be no hard feelings as he faces his old team for the first time since the trade.

"It's being blown out of proportion. It would be a bigger deal if there were hard feelings, or hatred. There's none of that," insisted Carter.

"Am I looking forward to it because it's the guys I know? Yes. Because it's the team I played with? Yes," he continued. "After that, I can't get caught up in it because I still have to report in the locker room and deal with (coach) Lawrence Frank. I have to bring my game and play the game he wants me to play and try not to do too much. That's why it's just another game."

The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that Jason Kidd was not back from his vacation in Mexico in time to participate in yesterday's late afternoon practice  According to Colin Stephenson the versatile guard called coach Lawrence Frank a little after 8 p.m. Sunday to let him know that his flight from Mexico to Teterboro Airport had been postponed because of the snow in New Jersey late Sunday night and he wouldn't be able to get out of Mexico until 1 p.m. yesterday.

Frank refused to say whether Kidd's absence would cost him a fine, and declined to categorize the absence as excused or unexcused.

"We don't want to make it bigger than it is," Frank said. "He called (Sunday) night."

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Jason Kidd's agent, Jeff Schwartz reportedly asked the Nets to trade Kidd to Minnesota.

When asked about it, Kidd gave a non-denial denial: "Not that I know of."

Kidd has gone back and forth all season long on whether he wishes to remain with New Jersey or be traded to a championship contender.

The Nets broke up a team that went to the Finals twice by trading away Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles this past offseason.

Jason Kidd is proving that he is ready and able to make a championship run, as he had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assits for the Nets in a 96-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

`We know our backs are against the wall and every game counts for us,'' said Kidd. ``We have to minimize our losses and can't afford a losing streak. We've been playing well over the last month. This gives us a big win to end the first half and gives us something to build on.''

This from a man who many believe would like to join Kevin McHale and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota on a championship run.

Nenad Kristic had a career-high 18 points and Mike Bibby led the Kings with 25 of his own.

Despite the recent moves by New Jersey management to dramatically improve the team's talent since the season's start, it appears that star point guard Jason Kidd still is not sold on the Nets.

According to Ohm Youngmisuk of the New York Daily News Kidd still yearns to play with an All-Star big man, specifically Minnesota's Kevin Garnett.  The article states that the Daily News were informed of this fact by no fewer than five sources, and that Kidd is still upset over losing teammate Kenyon Martin to the Denver Nuggets over the summer.  He also is not convinced the Nets can win a championship with Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson - two athletic swingmen who offer similar strengths - and no All-Star presence inside.

When asked if Kidd has requested a trade, Nets president Rod Thorn said: "I don't have any comment about any private conversations about anybody."

Kidd says he has not asked to be dealt.

"That's news to me," Kidd said yesterday morning.

In addition to acquiring Carter the Nets have exhausted their trade exceptions from the Martin and Kerry Kittles trades to acquire center Elden Campbell off waivers and Clifford Robinson from the Golden State Warriors, both players bolstering the weak Nets frontcourt.

Are the moves enough to get the Nets into the playoffs?  "We will find out," said Kidd.

In his second game, Kevin McHale scored his first win as Timberwolves head coach, beating the New Jersey Nets by a final score of 82-71.

They got good play from an unexpected source, Michael Olowokandi, he scored 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Nets got a season high of 18 points from Ron Mercer.

Minnesota, perhaps inspired by their new coach, had an edge of 52-41 on the boards.

Tonight's match-up between the Timberwolves and the Nets should be a good one.  With the Trade deadline rapidly approaching, it's time for Latrell Sprewell to make a statement about how valuable he really is.  Many feel that the lack of chemistry the T-Wolves are exhibiting on the court this year can be attributed to Sprewell's poor attitude.  

Only a fool would question the man's talent, we've all seen him get the job done.  However, attitude is everything, and like everything else in life, you only get out what you put in.  All it would take is for Latrell to remind himself why he plays this game, and make the necessary adjustments. Maybe this is easier said than done, but sometimes it's feels good to be idealistic.  To be honest, I'd like to see him stay with the Wolves.  He's got what it takes, he just needs to start playing again.

I'm sure right about now, Sprewell is wishing that he would have signed the 3-year/ 21 million contract the Wolves offered him at the beginning of the season.  The chances of him getting offered that kind of money by another organization at this point are very slim.  I don't care who you are, or what you do, that's a lot of money and one should be grateful. Getting paid 7-million dollars a year to play basketball is a gift from the heavens.  And C'mon, what's the difference betwenn making 7 million and year, and say 8.3?  When your talking about those kind of numbers, it's negligable.

The Golden State Warriors have traded forward Clifford Robinson to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for two future second round draft picks (2005 & 2007) and a trade exception from New Jersey equal to the amount of Robinson's salary, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.

"First and foremost, we'd like to thank Clifford Robinson for his contributions to the Warriors, " said Mullin. "He's a professional and a great competitor who served this team well for the last two seasons.  Additionally, from our standpoint, this trade will provide us with not only two additional draft picks, but also the flexibility that comes with a large trade exception that can be utilized at any point over the next year. "

Robinson, 38, has appeared in 42 games this season (29 starts), averaging 8.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.05 steals in 26.0 minutes per contest.   He tallied a season-high 25 points at Dallas on December 14 and scored in double-figures 19 times, while topping the 20-point plateau twice.  He has missed nine games this season, four due to injury and five due to an NBA suspension, giving him a career total of 28 games missed out of 1,249 regular-season team games played during his 16-year NBA career.