Jefferson, Nets hold off Sonics rally

SEATTLE – Delonte West was the last Sonic to leave the locker room. He didn’t speak with media, but the blank stare he wore was telling enough.

The player picked up in a trade with Boston had another solid game with 17 points for Seattle, but the Sonics’ tiring theme of careless turnovers and missed defensive stops at crucial times equaled a 98-93 defeat to New Jersey on Friday night in front of 14,424 at KeyArena.

West helped bring the Sonics within one point with 55.4 seconds remaining in the game, but a rushed pass to the perimeter with New Jersey defender Josh Boone swarming him and a pair of missed free throws kept the Sonics from winning their first home game of the season. Seattle (2-11) lost its third consecutive game.

“We’ve got to stay encouraged,” Sonics guard Damien Wilkins said. “There’s still things we can improve on. It’s a matter of us putting our foot down.”

The Nets (6-7) had lost six straight before winning Wednesday at Portland. Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 30 points. Vince Carter added 15 and Jason Kidd 14.

Jefferson made a crucial layin with 48 seconds to play, giving the Nets a 95-92 lead after West had cut the margin to one with a three-point play.

Trailing 96-93, the Sonics had one final chance after a Jefferson miss. Carter fouled West with 2.1 seconds to play. West missed the first free throw, then missed the second intentionally, but Jefferson came away with the rebound. He was fouled, and made two free throws to seal the Nets’ victory.

“The thing that killed us were the turnovers again,” Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We played well, got it to a one-possession game, but the same guys that made good plays also made mistakes. It’s decisions, and it’s difficult to play in the last three, four minutes.”

Rookie Jeff Green had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Seattle.

The Sonics cut a Nets lead that had grown as high as 13 points to just five late in the third quarter. But the Nets stretched it back out to 76-68 at the end of the quarter.

Damien Wilkins and Chris Wilcox led the Sonics with eight points each in the first half. Rookie Kevin Durant scored just four in the half, making 1 of 5 shots.