Knicks-Nets Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 10 2012 10:02PM

The Brooklyn Nets could be getting the help they need to break a four-game slide in time for another visit by the New York Knicks.

Brook Lopez turned in a big game the first time these Atlantic Division rivals met and could be back for Tuesday night's matchup.

Brooklyn (11-8) won 96-89 in overtime over New York (15-5) at home on Nov. 26. The game was originally scheduled as the Nets' opener in their new home before it was postponed by Superstorm Sandy. Lopez starred with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

The Nets big man has missed the last five games with a mild foot sprain. The lack of his defensive presence has been evident with opponents shooting 52.1 percent against the Nets during their skid.

Lopez practiced Monday, and it will be a game-time decision if he plays.

"I'm feeling good," Lopez said. "It was great to go through an entire practice. I wasn't sure I'd be able to - not necessarily because of whatever happened with my foot, but just my conditioning."

Coach Avery Johnson, however, didn't sound convinced that Lopez will be ready.

"We can't treat Brook like he is a savior, because right now the chances of him playing tomorrow are not very high," Johnson said. "So that's why the rest of the guys that are going to be in uniform for sure we got to play much better."

The first time these teams met, Nets point guard Deron Williams described it as a "playoff-type atmosphere."

Brooklyn-born Carmelo Anthony had 35 points and 13 boards for New York, and he'll likely hear some MVP chants from Knicks fans in his second game in the borough.

Anthony heard those chants when he scored 34 points against his former team Sunday in a 112-106 home victory over Denver. He was back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a cut on the middle finger of his left hand that required stitches.

"You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, you try not to think about it," Anthony said.

Anthony is averaging 30.1 points over his last eight games. He had two key baskets in the final 2:08 on Sunday.

"Again 'Melo is playing at such a high level, there is no question he's the MVP, one of the MVP candidates in the league this early season," coach Mike Woodson said. "He's been great for us and his teammates, they rely on him."

The Knicks could present a different challenge since veteran guard Jason Kidd missed the first matchup with lower back spasms. Kidd has started the last three games and finished with 17 points and seven assists against the Nuggets.

There was speculation in the offseason that Kidd, a former Net, would join Brooklyn to back up Williams.

Williams has shouldered the scoring load with an average of 24.7 points over the last three games. The guard had 18 and eight assists in Sunday's 97-88 home loss to Milwaukee.

He's looking forward to this visit by the Knicks, winners of six of seven since their first trip to Brooklyn.

"It would be a good win for us," Williams said. "They're playing good basketball right now and we need a win in the worst way."

Anthony scores 45, Knicks rally to beat Nets

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Dec 11 2012 11:40PM

NEW YORK (AP) Now, this Knicks-Nets rivalry is really on.

If it hadn't started when the Nets left New Jersey and set up shop in the Knicks' city, it surely arrived when Jason Kidd delivered the tiebreaking 3-pointer Tuesday night, making himself an enemy of his former franchise.

"I hate him," Nets guard Deron Williams said.

Williams was kidding, the point guards are friends. But Nets fans who watched Kidd ask out of the organization and Carmelo Anthony refuse to come could easily work up more dislike of the Knicks after watching those two Tuesday.

Anthony scored a season-high 45 points, Kidd made the tiebreaking shot with 24 seconds left, and the Knicks rallied from an early 17-point hole to beat Brooklyn 100-97.

Kidd finished with 18 points against his former team, who used to dominate the Knicks when he played in New Jersey. He pumped his fist afterward in what he said was as much emotion as he shows, though denied taking any special pleasure in beating the Nets.

"I'm a competitor. I want to win," he said.

Now the series is tied at 1-1 since the Nets moved to Brooklyn, both games coming down to the tense final minutes.

"It is (a rivalry). I mean, after that first game, we might as well accept that," Anthony said. "It is what it is. They're on our division, we see them four times a year. It is a rivalry. It's great for New York to have that in Brooklyn and in Manhattan. When we come here it's a battle. When they come there, it's going to be a battle. We expect that."

Andray Blatche scored 23 points in place of Brook Lopez, who missed his sixth straight game with a sprained right foot. Williams added 18 points and 10 assists, and Reggie Evans grabbed 18 rebounds, but the Nets lost their fifth straight.

Gerald Wallace scored 17 points, but both he and Williams missed potential tying 3-pointers on the last possession after Kidd broke a 97-all tie with his 3-pointer from the left side while being fouled by Jerry Stackhouse.

Kidd missed the free throw in an otherwise terrific effort for the 39-year-old point guard who helped carry the Knicks while fellow point guard Raymond Felton was struggling through a 3-for-12 night. Kidd had six rebounds and six assists, playing 38 minutes.

There were wild swings in momentum and crowd support in the second half, once the Knicks had gotten themselves untracked after the Nets threatened to run them off the floor in the first quarter.

The crowd was loud and energetic, the players and fans eventually matching the playoff-like intensity from the first meeting, a 96-89 Nets victory in overtime here on Nov. 26. That had left both teams tied atop the Atlantic Division at 9-4, but the Knicks have since gone 7-1 to surge to the top of the Eastern Conference, while Brooklyn has gone 2-5.

It occasionally felt like a Knicks home game, with "MVP! MVP!" chants for Anthony - which the Knicks think he deserves - and a black-and-orange dressed Spike Lee sitting courtside and yelling at the referees.

"He's had some pretty good games under my tutelage but I just think tonight he wanted it so badly, man," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "He made shot after shot."

The Brooklyn native never wanted to play in New Jersey, preferring instead a trade to the Knicks, and Kidd eventually wanted out after leading the Nets to two NBA Finals but never the local popularity of the Knicks.

But despite their efforts, the Nets had plenty of chances to send their fans home happy.

"This was a winnable game," Nets coach Avery Johnson said, "but we just couldn't quite close it."

The Nets scored the first five points, gave up a 3-pointer to Kidd, then outscored the Knicks 16-2 over the next five-plus minutes to open a 21-5 lead on Blatche's layup with 4:29 left in the first quarter. Brooklyn hit nine of its first 11 shots, led by as much as 17 and was ahead 30-16 going to the second. Blatche had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in eight minutes.

The Nets still led by 16 with 4:49 remaining in the half, but Anthony nailed a jumper and 3-pointer, triggering an 18-6 run to end the half that he capped with a layup with 1.8 seconds left, bringing the Knicks within 53-49 as they headed to the locker room.

The Knicks scored the first five points of the second half to take their first lead, but Williams quickly put the Nets back ahead and Blatche helped them stay there. Brooklyn was back up by nine late in the third quarter before settling for a 79-74 lead.

Brooklyn held the lead until Kidd tied it a 91 on a 3-pointer with 4:01 to play. The Nets lost a potential go-ahead basket when Blatche's tip in was ruled an offensive violation, and Anthony tipped in his own miss to give New York a 93-91 edge with 2:47 to play.

The Nets tied it again at 95 when Wallace - who just moments before had banged knees hard with J.R. Smith and could barely stand - tipped in a miss. Two free throws by Anthony followed by Joe Johnson's basket set the stage for Kidd's go-ahead shot.

NOTES: At a ceremony Tuesday afternoon, a flagpole from Ebbets Field was dedicated outside Barclays Center. Sharon Robinson, daughter of Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, took part in the ceremony, as did Stackhouse, who wears Robinson's No. 42. The flagpole had been donated to a local VFW post after the stadium was demolished in 1960 and remained at that site until Nets part-owner Bruce Ratner, the Barclays Center developer, obtained it in 2007 with the plan of bringing it here. "I think that's a beautiful connection to Ebbets Field," Robinson said. "To imagine this flying over Ebbets Field and that the Brooklyn Dodgers being so much part of that history, to have this plaque will remind them that the Brooklyn Dodgers were here and made such a difference in the community and now we have the Brooklyn Nets." ... The Knicks play their next six games at home starting Thursday against the Lakers. They host the Nets on Dec. 19 and don't go back on the road until opening a three-game trip against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Christmas.

Notebook: Knicks 100, Nets 97

Jake Appleman, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:05 AM - Updated Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:05 AM

THE FACTS: In a tense second rendition of the Battle of the Boroughs, the Knicks emerged victorious over the Nets 100-97. A 3-pointer from Jason Kidd (converted while getting fouled by Jerry Stackhouse) with 24 seconds remaining provided the difference. Carmelo Anthony poured in a season-high 45 points as the Knicks (16-5) fought back from a 17-point deficit with Anthony and Kidd (18 points) combining to shoot 11-for-15 from long range. Andray Blatche led the Nets (11-9) with a season-high 23 points in under 30 minutes, while Deron Williams registered 18 points and 10 assists.

QUOTABLE: "I would say, in a perfect world, they should only make seven or eight 3s tonight, not 14."

-- Nets coach Avery Johnson

THE STAT: The Knicks (14-for-28) scored 30 more points from behind the arc than the Nets (4-for-18). Two of the Nets' 3-point attempts came on the game's final possession.

TURNING POINT: Kidd's 4-point play chance on his eventual game-winning 3 -- he missed the free throw -- set up opportunities for Gerald Wallace (17 points) and then Williams to send the game to overtime, but both players misfired.

QUOTABLE II: "It's kind of a trigger effect from Carmelo having a big night, which is why we tried to make sure that he didn't get another look."

-- Jerry Stackhouse on Kidd's game-winning 3-pointer

INSIDE THE ARENA: Michael Rapaport, Spike Lee, Itzhak Perlman, Rosie Perez, Mike D of the Beastie Boys, and Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie Robinson, attended the game. ... The crowd was either passionately pro-Knicks, or the Knicks fans were just louder than the Nets fans.

ROOKIE WATCH: Pablo Prigioni made a minimal statistical impact in nine-plus minutes of action, tallying three rebounds and an assist.

NOTABLE: Blatche scored 12 of the first 21 Nets points, as the home team jumped out to a 21-5 lead. ... The Nets outscored the Knicks 18-2 in the paint in the first quarter and 48-20 for the game. ... After scoring a career-high 28 in their first encounter, it took Tyson Chandler over 20 minutes of action to score his first points, but it was his back-tap that enabled Kidd to drain the winning shot. ... Reggie Evans snared a season-high 18 rebounds. ... MarShon Brooks (9 points) had his second consecutive efficient game off the Nets' bench. ... Steve Novak took 1 shot in 21 minutes of action. ... Kidd added 6 assists without a turnover to round out his virtuoso offensive performance.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Thursday vs. LA Lakers, Saturday vs. Cleveland, Monday vs. Houston. For the Nets, Wednesday @ Toronto, Friday vs. Detroit, Saturday @ Chicago.

• Knicks: Shumpert, Stoudemire
• Nets: Lopez, Shengelia

• Knicks: --
• Nets: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #55 Bill Kennedy, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 17732
• Duration: 2:41