The tip-off was delayed by weeks due to Superstorm Sandy, but the Nets and Knicks faced off for the first time in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center and the Nets held off the Knicks for a 96-89 overtime win.
The game was first scheduled for November 1, it was finally played on Monday night, and it was more than a battle of two boroughs. The New York Knicks (8-4) left Manhattan for Brooklyn and a battle against the Nets (9-4) for New York City basketball supremacy. It was also the first time the Knicks have faced the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn jumped out to a 26-23 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Nets got nine points from Gerald Wallace, eight from Brook Lopez, five from Deron Williams, and four points from Keith Bogans came off the bench. Would this be another shoot-out like the Knicks played recently against Western Conference rivals? It didn’t turn out that way.
Tyson Chandler led the Knicks in first quarter scoring with eight points. Carmelo`Anthony was held to six shots for four points. Anthony added to his total with a layup for the first basket of the second quarter and finished the half with 15 points. Chandler finished with 13 points as the Knicks went to the locker room with a 47-45 lead.
At the half, Wallace led the Nets with 11 points with Lopez adding 10 points to the Nets ledger.
Joe Johnson had 8 points for the half. The Nets shot a mere 37 percent to the Knicks 50 percent from the field. The Knicks scored 26 points in the paint to the Nets 18 nearest the basket.
Anthony heated up for 11 points in the third quarter, and the Knicks went on a 10-0 run to a six point lead. Fueled by strong post play, the Nets fought back to a 68-67 lead at the quarter’s end.
The Nets inside game came alive in the second half with 30 points in the paint. The Knicks points in the paint for the second half were just 12. Knicks’ Head Coach Mike Woodson went with taller players most of the game to counteract the size advantage of the Nets, but the Nets still dominated in the low post.
The fourth quarter, like the previous three, featured numerous lead changes. With eight points by Anthony and seven from Chandler, the Knicks outscored the Nets 17-16, but that wasn’t enough. The New Yorkers tied at 84-84, and the game was sent into a five-minute overtime period.
Lopez was the leading Nets’ scorer with 22 points, followed by 16 by Wallace, 14 from Williams, and 12 from Jerry Stackhouse. The Nets outscored the Knicks 12-5 to win the game going away in the overtime period.
Anthony led all scorers with 34 points, and Chandler had a season-high 26 points. Raymond Felton shot a dismal 3 for 18, Rasheed Wallace was 2 for 11, and J.R. Smith was 2 for 7. The cold-shooting put the Knicks below 40 percent shooting for the game.
Knicks Notes: The Knicks entered the game third best in the NBA in scoring with a 103.4 average points per game; the Nets were 20th in the league with a 95.6 average. However, the Nets came into the game leading the NBA in fewest points allowed (91.5) with the Knicks slipping to tenth (95.4) after giving up over 100 points in each of their three losses (including 131 points by Houston) and against Detroit in Sunday’s win.
The Knicks missed Jason Kidd and his eight points a game, three assists, and three rebounds. Kidd was sidelined with lower back spasms. The Knicks play next in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
