By MIKE CRANSTON
AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C.(AP) -- Just when you thought nobody could match
the Charlotte Bobcats' offensive ineptitude, the New Jersey Nets
one-upped them.

Try more than 10 minutes without a point and nearly 11 1/2
without a field goal. Add in another key injury and another
deflating loss and the Nets' season is already in a freefall.

Gerald Wallace had 24 points and a career-high 20 rebounds and
the Bobcats - the NBA's lowest-scoring team - overcame their
horrible first half by being just a little better with the ball
than the winless Nets in their 79-68 victory on Monday night.

"It was embarrassing," guard Rafer Alston said after the Nets
fell to 0-4. "Offensively, we have to do it together."

The Nets went 0 for 11 from the field with nine turnovers in
Charlotte's 24-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters in
the longest scoring drought in the NBA in nearly four years. It
turned a once 14-point Nets cushion into a comfortable 63-51
Charlotte lead with 8:38 left.

To make matters worse, the Nets lost forward Yi Jianlian during
the drought when a falling Wallace rolled into his right knee.
He'll undergo an MRI Tuesday to determine the damage to the
medial collateral ligament, while All-Star Devin Harris was in
Chicago on Monday getting a second opinion on his strained
groin.

D.J. Augustin added 21 points for the Bobcats, who haven't
cracked 80 points in three of four games, yet improved to 2-2 in
Raja Bell's return from a wrist injury.

"One time I looked up and we were 6 for 38 (from the field) and
we were down 11," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "I kept
telling them if we didn't defend we'd lose by 40."

That defense, with the help of Nets miscues, led New Jersey to
stay stuck at 48 points for 10 minutes, 3 seconds. After Yi hit
one free throw with 6:41 left in the third quarter, the Nets
didn't score again until Chris Douglas-Roberts' three-point play
with 8:38 left in the fourth.

Douglas-Roberts had 20 points and Brook Lopez added 18, but had
seven of New Jersey's 26 turnovers. Two nights after Nets coach
Lawrence Frank said the team's defensive effort was "pitiful" in
a loss to Washington, the offense was worse.

The last time a team went longer without scoring was Milwaukee's
10:07 drought against Houston on Jan. 23, 2006, according to
STATS LLC.

"Guys can't get bored with the process and get frustrated
because they're only averaging 13-14 points," said Alston, who
shot 1 for 8 filling in at point guard for Harris. "Yeah, that
might be your average right now. So what? In the third quarter,
it was bad from a team standpoint."

The Nets tied a team low with seven points in the third quarter
on 2-of-15 shooting. That allowed the athletic Wallace to take
over. He shot 7 of 14 from the field and 10 of 13 from the line
while dominating the glass. His previous career-high was 17
rebounds and Charlotte held a 51-33 advantage on the boards.

"Larry Brown, he says I should get every rebound that comes off
the rim," Wallace said.

There were plenty of them in this one. A barrage of missed
layups, open jumpers and shot clock violations in the first
quarter sent folks scrambling for the record books.

The teams combined to make eight of 42 shots and New Jersey led
14-10, just six points off the NBA record for the fewest points
by two teams in a quarter.

When Vladimir Radmanovic sent a crosscourt pass into the third
row early in the second quarter, the Bobcats were 5-for-30 from
the field and trailed only 20-12. They broke 20 points with 3:44
left in the second quarter and Bell's 3-pointer with 1:45 left
in the half was Charlotte's first made jump shot of the game.

The Bobcats shot a team-worst 19 percent in the first half, yet
trailed only 41-33. Then the Nets imploded and the Bobcats won
in Bell's season debut.

Deciding to put off surgery to repair a torn ligament in his
left wrist, Bell looked rusty. He had three points and four
rebounds and shot 1 for 8, about an average shooting night in a
game where scoring was so difficult.

"Our defense is what kept us in the game," Wallace said. "It
gave us a chance to win in the second half."

NOTES: The Nets dropped to 8-2 in Charlotte. The Bobcats are the
only team they have a winning road record against. ... Brown
said Bobcats G Ronald "Flip" Murray (shin) could return Friday
against Atlanta. ... The Nets are awaiting a second opinion on F
Tony Battie's injured right knee. ... Nets G Keyon Dooling (hip)
went through shootaround, but isn't ready to return. ... Nets F
Trenton Hassell (personal reasons) wasn't with the team.