Vince Carter's right ankle was wrapped in ice, and he wore the look of a tormented 10-year-old as he sat at his locker following the Nets' 91-82 loss to the visiting Clippers Tuesday night.

For much of the fourth quarter, Carter was tormented by both his inability to make a shot and by many of the 13,433 fans at the Meadowlands.

Carter hit just one of his six shots in the final 12 minutes and was booed after just about every miss. The jeers peaked after Carter clanked a close-range runner off the front rim with just under six minutes left and shot an air ball on a three-point attempt with 2:48 to play.

Carter said his ankle felt fine. But clearly, he was hurting mentally.

"It's just rough when you're trying to do what you can do for the team," said Carter, who shot 5-for-17 overall for 16 points. "I felt like I let them down just not being able to make shots. It was a tough night."