Nets-Knicks Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 18 2012 11:43PM

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony says he will be a game-time decision for Wednesday night.

The Brooklyn Nets can only hope he will sit out based on how the Brooklyn-born Anthony has fared against them this season.

The Knicks (18-6) suffered their first home loss their last time out with Anthony on the sideline and look to bounce back when the Nets visit Madison Square Garden.

Anthony has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle that he says is healing. He will try to get through some work in the morning before deciding whether he can play.

"It's not sprained or anything right now, it's just really badly bruised," Anthony said. "It's about getting the inflammation out, and there's still some inflammation in there."

While Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire practiced for the first time this season Tuesday and there is no timetable for his return, the club wants to make sure Anthony is ready even though there is temptation for him to play after averaging 40.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in two meetings this season with Brooklyn (13-11).

"Of course I want to play," Anthony said. "But if I'm not able to go out there and be the player that I can be and help my team then I'm not going to step foot out there on the court."

His absence would dampen an Atlantic Division rivalry that has heated up in 2012-13, with the Nets now city rivals as well. The first two games have been in Brooklyn, with the Nets winning 96-89 in overtime on Nov. 26 and the Knicks winning 100-97 on Dec. 11 on former Nets guard Jason Kidd's go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds left.

These teams met for first place in November, but New York has opened a five-game division lead on Brooklyn now.

"You guys want to call it a rivalry, so be it," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "You know I look at it is two good teams this year that are battling it out to figure out who's going to stay at the top of this division and win it. I'm pulling for the Knicks."

Brooklyn does not believe it will have a huge advantage if Anthony is out.

"Well they beat the Heat in Miami without 'Melo so we know they are still a good team," Nets guard Deron Williams said. "They have guys that can come in and step up. If he doesn't play, we're going to treat it the same way as if he plays."

The Nets will try to regroup after their seventh loss in nine games, 92-90 at home to Utah on Tuesday. Brooklyn built a 13-point halftime lead before shooting 31.3 percent after the break.

Joe Johnson scored 21 points and Williams added 14.

Brook Lopez missed the last meeting with New York after he had 22 points and 11 boards in the first one. Lopez has started the last three games after missing seven with a sprained right foot.

This is the first time the Knicks will host a team from the state of New York since a 122-112 loss to the Buffalo Braves on Feb. 18, 1978. New York fell to 10-1 at home with Monday's 109-96 defeat to Houston.

Melo returns, scores 31 as Knicks rout Nets 100-86

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Dec 19 2012 11:03PM

NEW YORK (AP) Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks know they can't entirely dismiss the rivalry talk, not with the Nets just a few miles away.

On the court and in the standings, the distance keeps growing.

Anthony scored 31 points in his return to the lineup, and New York beat Brooklyn 100-86 on Wednesday night in the third meeting this season between the city rivals.

After two tight games in Brooklyn, the Knicks turned the first one at Madison Square Garden into a rout by dominating the second half. Anthony, who missed two games with a sprained left ankle, moved fine and shot well, though his scoring average against the Nets this season actually dropped to 37 points per game.

"At the end of the day, these are statement games, these are big games, divisional games," Anthony said. "They're right across the bridge, so these games definitely mean a lot."

J.R. Smith added 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who bounced back from their first home loss Monday against Jeremy Lin and Houston, improving to 11-1 at MSG.

Chandler scored 12 on 6-of-8 shooting in the second half.

"I just wanted to close the game. I wanted to make a statement," Chandler said. "Tonight was a big game for us, a game in our division, an opportunity to gain a full game as far as the lead goes, and we have to make statements like that."

Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who have lost three straight and eight of 10. What once was a deadlock for the Atlantic Division lead after the first meeting is now a six-game advantage for the Knicks.

"We have a lot of season left. We'll get it turned around," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "We're going to get back in the lab on Friday and work on some parts of our game and get this bad taste out."

Deron Williams and Brook Lopez each had 16 points for Brooklyn.

The Nets won 96-89 in overtime on Nov. 26 in the rescheduled season opener that was postponed after Superstorm Sandy, and the Knicks pulled out a 100-97 victory Dec. 11 behind Anthony's 45 points and Jason Kidd's tiebreaking 3-pointer with 24 seconds left.

This one was only close for a half with the Knicks outscoring the Nets 48-38 in the final 24 minutes.

"Once they started hitting the way they did, it's kind of deflating," Williams said. "It takes you away from your game. You try to get it all back at once instead of being patient and executing like we did in the first half."

The game lacked the energy and nonstop crowd noise of the two matchups in Brooklyn. Perhaps this crowd just wasn't balanced enough, Brooklyn black hard to spot amid the rows of orange, thanks to a hat giveaway by the Knicks.

Or perhaps Knicks fans were just fatigued from recent visits from the Lakers and Lin, and didn't view a game against the Nets the same way the up-and-coming fan base in Brooklyn does when facing the more established franchise. Though they began to concede it was a rivalry after the two tense games at Barclays Center, Knicks players had previously said there wasn't really any, and wouldn't be until they had some meaningful postseason meetings.

The Knicks are still getting used to sharing their city, the Garden public address announcer accidentally saying Williams was checking in for New Jersey at one point.

But Anthony clearly gets up for the games against the team from his birthplace. He had his highest-scoring game of the season in the last meeting, Avery Johnson saying before the game that "he kind of got away from us a little it in Game 2, is what I'll call it."

The Nets didn't do much better against him in Game 3.

The Knicks weren't even sure Anthony would play until he worked out before the game. He said he realized once the game got going, he was able to do things he wasn't sure his ankle would allow.

"He looked good to me. If he's not 100 percent, I'll take whatever percent he was tonight, because that was awesome," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

Anthony had 17 points at halftime, leading the Knicks to a 52-48 lead. Chandler took over in the third, getting four dunks among his 10 points, hooking up with Pablo Prigioni on an alley-oop that made it 75-65 with 11.2 seconds remaining in the quarter.

New York scored seven straight points early in the fourth to open a 14-point cushion, and the benches on both sides emptied after a 3-pointer by Smith and four straight points by Anthony extended it to 98-80.

NOTES: The Knicks played without reserve forwards Steve Novak (ill) and Rasheed Wallace (sore left foot). ... Johnson said the status of Jerry Stackhouse (sore right knee) for Sunday's game against Philadelphia would be determined by how he gets through practice Friday and Saturday. ... The Nets said this was the first meeting of Brooklyn and New York City-based pro sports franchises in Manhattan since Sept. 8, 1957, when the Dodgers visited the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.

Notebook: Knicks 100, Nets 86

Adam Zagoria, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:15 PM - Updated Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:15 PM

THE FACTS: Playing in front of a hugely pro-Knicks crowd at Madison Square Garden, Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game hiatus caused by a sprained ankle and scored a game-high 31 points as the Knicks beat their intra-city rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, 100-86 in the first game between the two teams on the Knicks' homecourt.

Tyson Chandler added a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while J.R. Smith tallied 19 points and five rebounds off the bench.

New York (19-6) now leads the season series 2-1 with one game left at the Garden Jan. 21.

The Knicks have won five of their last six games and 10 of 12, while Brooklyn (13-12) has dropped three straight and eight of 10.

Joe Johnson led the Nets with 17 points, Brook Lopez added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Deron Williams tallied 16 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "There's no doubt in my mind [Carmelo Anthony is] an MVP candidate, and I know it's early, but he's playing at such a high level its scary. ... Everyone's benefiting from it. He's making guys around him better and the results are wins. And that's all that matters at the end of the day."

-- Knicks coach Mike Woodson on Anthony, who was a game-time decision

THE STAT: Without Steve Novak (flulike symptoms), the Knicks shot 11-for-28 from beyond the arc, while the Nets were 10-for-25. Anthony was the most efficient Knicks player at 4-for-8.

TURNING POINT: The Knicks went on a 25-7 run after trailing by four points in the third to go ahead 82-68 early in the fourth. They closed the third period on a 18-6 spurt and led 75-67 after three. New York outscored Brooklyn 48-38 in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "That's what we expect [from Carmelo] every night. Whenever he's in the lineup, that's what we expect from him."

-- J.R. Smith on Anthony's performance

HOT: Chandler had seven field goals, including six dunks -- five of which were alley-oops.

NOT: The Nets forward duo of Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace went a combined 2-for-10 for six points and 14 rebounds.

QUOTABLE III: "I think they'll remain confident. We'll get back on the practice court Friday and Saturday, and hopefully fix some of these problems."

-- Nets coach Avery Johnson

NOTABLE: Amar'e Stoudemire will practice Thursday with the D-League Erie BayHawks and the Knicks will decide where to go from there. It's possible Stoudemire could play Friday vs. Chicago or Sunday vs. Minnesota. "It's going to be entirely up to him and the doctors in terms of how he's feeling," Woodson said at shootaround. "If he says he's ready, then I trust that and I'll play him." ... Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby both did not dress for the Knicks with comparable cases of sore left feet.

QUOTABLE IV: "If he's not 100 percent, I'll take whatever percent he was tonight because that was awesome."

-- Mike Woodson on Anthony

INSIDE THE ARENA: Patrick Ewing, John McEnroe, Gerry Cooney, Willie Randolph and Victor Cruz were among those courtside.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Friday vs. Chicago, Sunday vs. Minnesota, Tuesday @ Lakers. For the Nets, Sunday vs. Philadelphia, Tuesday vs. Boston, Wednesday @ Milwaukee.

• Nets: Childress, Stackhouse
• Knicks: Shumpert, Stoudemire

• Nets: Humphries
• Knicks: --

• Lead Changes: 20
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #7 Kevin Fehr, #36 David Jones, #41 Ken Mauer
• Attendance: 19033
• Duration: 2:16