East Rutherford, N.J. —- Sole control of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff chase is what the Hawks came here for.

Nets guard Vince Carter made sure they went home empty-handed, though, summoning his best performance of the season as the New Jersey Nets defeated the Hawks 125-117 on Wednesday night at Izod Center.

Carter, the eight-time All-Star and once the man thought to be the heir to Michael Jordan's throne as the NBA's signature talent, dialed up a throwback performance to help the Nets erase what had been a one-game Hawks lead for that eighth spot —- and the Nets own the tiebreaker having won the season series 3-1.

"We scored 70 points in the first half and fell back into that mode where we think we can just outscore people," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson, whose team saw its three-game victory streak end. "When you start struggling to make shots, you have to make sure they're struggling to make shots to balance things out, and that didn't happen.

"We just didn't defend. And I'm not taking anything away from the Nets because they shot lights out. We shoot 50 percent ourselves and don't win the game, I say it's our defense."

In a game filled with playoff-level tension on both sides, the Hawks simply ran out of shot-making gas in the second half while the Nets never let up.

Carter finished the night with a season-high 39 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He got plenty of help from Richard Jefferson (33 points), Devin Harris (26 points and nine assists).

The Hawks got monster efforts out of their entire starting five. All-Star and captain Joe Johnson led the way with 24. Rookie center Al Horford finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. Josh Smith finished with 20 points and three blocks before fouling out late. Marvin Williams and Mike Bibby scored 15 each.

But after scoring 70 points in the first half, the Hawks couldn't find the bottom of the rim often enough.

"I think we just started missing shots," Smith said. "We tried to fight through it, but we just gave up too many layups. And this is a game we should have won to separate ourselves, and we just didn't get it done. Because if we would've gotten stops of any kind, we'd have had a 13-to-15-point cushion and won this game."

The Hawks couldn't hold on to the 13-point lead they had early in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter trailing 94-90.

They also couldn't contain Carter, who shredded their defense for 17 points in the first half and continued his assault from there. He got Johnson into foul trouble, forcing Woodson to sit him for much of the third quarter with three fouls.

"They jumped on us right out of the gate in the third and outscored us by 14 in the quarter," Bibby said. "And I thought they took control of the game there because we couldn't bounce back."

Both teams put on dazzling offensive displays in the first half; the Hawks led 70-60 after the defense-free first 24 minutes.

The momentum swung back and forth the entire time, though, as the Nets led by as many as five early and carried a 37-35 lead into the second quarter.

"We did a lot of good things offensively and played well overall, but we just couldn't stop them," Horford said. "Vince made some unbelievable shots. And he knew what time it was. He understood the magnitude of this game and stepped up to the occasion."

PLAYOFF PUSH

A look at the Hawks' race for the final spot in the Eastern Conference:

..Team ....W ..L....GB

6. Wizards..34..33 ..20

7. 76ers....34..34 ..20 1/2

8. Hawks....29..39 ..25 1/2

..Nets ....29..39 ..25 1/2

—————————————-

..Bulls....27..40 ..27

..Pacers ..27..41 ..27 1/2

NEXT FOR HAWKS

> Who: vs. Magic

> When: 7 p.m. Saturday

> TV; radio: SportSouth; 790 AM