Lawrence Frank will return next season to coach the NBA's New Jersey Nets, a team executive said Wednesday. Frank will be back despite New Jersey's failure to qualify for the NBA playoffs for the second year in a row. If you get rid of a good coach, you've got to get a good coach, team President Rod Thorn said at a news conference.

Lawrence Frank will return next season to coach the NBA's New Jersey Nets, a team executive told the Bergen Record Wednesday. Frank will be back despite New Jersey's failure to qualify for the NBA playoffs for the second year in a row. I just want to be sure in my mind, team president Rod Thorn told the newspaper prior to a news conference to announce Frank will return.

A season-high 23 points by Keyon Dooling Wednesday helped New Jersey keep its slim playoff hopes alive with a 111-98 win over Detroit. The Nets climbed within 4 1/2 games of Chicago for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining. Dooling made five 3-pointers, the most of his career, while Devin Harris chipped in 19 points and equaled a season best with four steals.

Richard Jefferson had 29 points and 10 rebounds Monday to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 107-78 victory over the New Jersey Nets. Charlie Villanueva added 20 points, Joe Alexander scored 16 and Ramon Sessions had 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who ended a five-game losing streak. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Nets' scoring with 14 points.

Vince Carter made five 3-point shots and scored 29 points Wednesday in carrying New Jersey to a 115-89 blasting of New York. The Nets halted a four-game losing streak, getting 23 points and eight assists from Brook Lopez and 17 points from Keyon Dooling.