NEW YORK -- Mikhail Prokhorov saw the draining team spirit, the missing will to fight, and decided change was needed. The Brooklyn Nets owner had to like the results in the first game under P.J. Carlesimo. The Nets gave their interim coach a victory in his debut and the Charlotte Bobcats a 17th straight loss, getting 26 points and 11 rebounds from Brook Lopez in a 97-81 rout Friday night. A day after firing Avery Johnson, the Nets played as they did last month, when they were 11-4 and Johnson was Eastern Conference coach of the month. They are just 4-10 in December, a slump that cost Johnson his job, but got back over .500 with ease. "Its hard to be confident when youre not enjoying success. So I think you have to play your way out of it, shoot your way out of it and I thought we did that tonight," Carlesimo said. Deron Williams added 17 of his 19 points in the first half and Joe Johnson had 16 for the Nets, who led by 29 points and won for just the second time in seven games. Hakim Warrick scored 13 points and Ramon Sessions had 12 for the Bobcats (7-22), who shot 38 per cent and havent won since tying last seasons total with their seventh victory. Of course, nobody is expecting the Bobcats to be any good. Prokhorov believes his team is, and he acted quickly when he didnt like the teams spirit. The Russian billionaire cut short a ski vacation to Canada and revealed at halftime he had decided to fire Johnson last week, even before the lacklustre performance on national TV against Boston on Christmas that preceded a dismal showing Wednesday in Milwaukee. The Nets fired Johnson on Thursday and promoted Carlesimo, his assistant, to interim coach. "I think we have very talented players but they are capable of much more than what we have seen in the recent weeks," Prokhorov said. "I respect Avery and really I wish him well, but sometimes chemistry just isnt right. It happens." Though names such as Phil Jackson and other top coaches have already been mentioned as replacements, Prokhorov said he wants Carlesimo to be the coach and the Nets to support him. Lopez said thats easy for the Nets. "He helped us focus tonight," Lopez said. "He was there for us and you know we support him and he supports us. Prokhorov has said he believes the Nets can reach the conference championship and is keeping the expectations high. Williams thinks the Nets can still achieve them. "I felt were a good team all year and we just hit a rough patch," he said. "Weve got to fight our way out of it, so we made a step in the right direction tonight and we just keep going." Carlesimo last coached his own team when he was fired by the Oklahoma City Thunder after a 1-12 start to the 2008-09 season. He previously had stints in Portland and Golden State, but said before the game he was a little more apprehensive than normal for his return to running his own club. "Your heads spinning a little bit, youre trying to think of all the things that were second nature," Carlesimo said. "Hopefully I havent forgotten. Im old, but hopefully I havent forgotten." It was quickly obvious he had nothing to worry about. The Bobcats missed 13 of their first 16 shots, making it easy for the Nets. Brooklyn scored nine straight in the middle of the first quarter to open a 12-point lead, extended it to 18 later in the period, and were ahead 33-15 headed to the second. "Its tough. We cant put ourselves in that kind of position," Bobcats guard Kemba Walker said. "We dont have a lot of depth on our team to come back against great teams, but we do every once in a while, but we cant do that all the time. We dig ourselves in holes we cant get out of." Williams, who missed Wednesdays game with a bruised right wrist and came into the game shooting under 40 per cent for the season, was 7 of 14 from the field. Williams, who said recently that he preferred his old offence in Utah to Johnsons, acknowledged his confidence was down as he struggled to play the style that best suited the Nets. "We came out with a lot more energy," Williams said. "I think we had to. I think our backs are against the wall right now." The Bobcats have bigger problems. When it became obvious they had no hope of winning, coach Mike Dunlap lowered the teams goals. "In the fourth quarter, just the fact that we had some guys that played hard. We played a little bit of zone and that for whatever reason stopped them and broke their rhythm," he said. "I just set a goal to keep them under 100 and then field goal percentage-wise, regardless of who was on the floor, I wanted them inside of 47 per cent. Those were two short-term goals, even though the game appeared to be out of reach." The Nets finished at 45 per cent. Lopez, the starting centre whose seven-game absence with a foot injury started the Nets downward spiral, was 9 of 12 and made all eight free throws. Walker shot 2 of 10 and No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was 1 of 6 for the Bobcats. NOTES: Prokhorov said he plans to meet with Carlesimo on Saturday. The Nets host Cleveland on Saturday night. ... Charlotte lost its last 23 games in last seasons 7-59 season. cheap nfl jerseys paypal . The 19-year-old goaltender made 24 saves for his first QMJHL shutout as the Moncton Wildcats blanked the visiting Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4-0 on Saturday. wholesale jerseys china .C. -- Defending champion John Isner advanced to the Winston-Salem Open final Friday, beating Frances Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 7-6 (7-3). http://www.wholesalenflch... . The move was precautionary and shouldnt impact his appearance in next weeks All-Star game and Home Run Derby. 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