--G Vince Carter was ejected for the second time in his career Wednesday when he exploded at referee Derrick Stafford in the second quarter and needed to be restrained by teammates. Teammates said Carter maintained that Stafford used a derogatory term at him. Carter was first ejected, also as a Net, on Feb. 11, 2005, when he came down on the foot of Bruce Bowen of San Antonio. Carter said he felt Bowen was trying to hurt him. In this instance, he was jawing loudly at the ref.
"The official said something to Vince that Vince thought was very inappropriate and he reacted. Vince doesn't have a reputation of a guy who's going to rack up technicals," said coach Lawrence Frank. --The Nets employed a rotation change Wednesday as veteran F Eduardo Najera replaced rookie Ryan Anderson as the backup power forward to Yi Jianlian. Coach Lawrence Frank made the move to employ Najera's defense. Anderson has been struggling with his shot -- as has Yi Jianlian, the starter. Obviously, they were not looking to sub a struggling shooter for a struggling shooter.
"He wants to see what Eduardo can bring with his energy and leadership. It seems like me and Yi are playing real similar right now, we're both not shooting the ball real well," Anderson said.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm not going to get into it. That kind of dialogue doesn't get anyone anywhere. We thought it was unjust that he got thrown out, and that's it." -- Coach Lawrence Frank on G Vince Carter being ejected on two quick technicals from referee Derrick Stafford Wednesday.
