The New York Knicks got their second win in a row Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden 120–116 against their neighbors the New Jersey Nets, with Carmelo Anthony matching his Knicks career high 39 points.
Wednesday’s game was once again a hotly contested one for the Knicks (37–38), who ended a six-game losing streak on Monday with an OT win against the Orlando Magic at MSG with Anthony scoring 39 points. These were New York’s first back-to-back wins since March 9 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Nets (23–51) dominated the first half with good shooting, which was enabled in part by poor defense by the Knicks. New Jersey had many offensive rebounds that resulted in successful second attempts.
“We just came out and executed tonight. We’ve done our job defensively for the most part,” Nets center Brook Lopez told ESPN at the half.
“Last night we weren’t very focused on our offense, but tonight we’re very crisp and we move it around, the ball is popping a lot and we’re getting good looks,” Lopez said in reference to the Nets’ 25 point home loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
Lopez had a terrific first half with 22 points, and the Nets finished up 68–58 over New York.
The Knicks came out blazing in the second half, pulling within one point at the 9:00 minute mark. Their defense, led by Anthony, improved tremendously, and they limited the Nets to just two offensive rebounds in the third quarter.
The Nets would pull back up by 10 points in the third quarter, but the Knicks battled back, led in scoring by Anthony, to pull within a point a few more times before taking a brief one-point lead off a goaltending call against the Nets.
Anthony finished the third quarter with an incredible 20 points, including two 3-pointers, while Chauncey Billups added nine points. The Nets closed the third quarter with a 92–91 lead, with Anthony Morrow having the hot hand, scoring 14 points.
“The first half was a little bit slow. We got ourselves in the hole,” Anthony said after the game.
“[But] we fought back. I just figured if I got out there and show[ed] my teammates a little bit of effort on [defense], then they would follow my lead,” Anthony said.
The fourth quarter was a high-intensity, close contest throughout. Deron Williams—back after missing two weeks with an injured wrist—really stepped up his play and carried the Nets down the stretch, scoring 12 points.
Anthony continued to lead and brought the Knicks up by two points to 116–114 with just over a minute to go in the game.
Lopez would fail to score on a layup on the next possession, and the Knicks would score on foul shots on the next two possessions to seal the win. The last pair came from Billups, who had his best game so far with New York, scoring 33 points and going 10–10 from the line.
Wednesday’s game was once again a hotly contested one for the Knicks (37–38), who ended a six-game losing streak on Monday with an OT win against the Orlando Magic at MSG with Anthony scoring 39 points. These were New York’s first back-to-back wins since March 9 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Nets (23–51) dominated the first half with good shooting, which was enabled in part by poor defense by the Knicks. New Jersey had many offensive rebounds that resulted in successful second attempts.
“We just came out and executed tonight. We’ve done our job defensively for the most part,” Nets center Brook Lopez told ESPN at the half.
“Last night we weren’t very focused on our offense, but tonight we’re very crisp and we move it around, the ball is popping a lot and we’re getting good looks,” Lopez said in reference to the Nets’ 25 point home loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
Lopez had a terrific first half with 22 points, and the Nets finished up 68–58 over New York.
The Knicks came out blazing in the second half, pulling within one point at the 9:00 minute mark. Their defense, led by Anthony, improved tremendously, and they limited the Nets to just two offensive rebounds in the third quarter.
The Nets would pull back up by 10 points in the third quarter, but the Knicks battled back, led in scoring by Anthony, to pull within a point a few more times before taking a brief one-point lead off a goaltending call against the Nets.
Anthony finished the third quarter with an incredible 20 points, including two 3-pointers, while Chauncey Billups added nine points. The Nets closed the third quarter with a 92–91 lead, with Anthony Morrow having the hot hand, scoring 14 points.
“The first half was a little bit slow. We got ourselves in the hole,” Anthony said after the game.
“[But] we fought back. I just figured if I got out there and show[ed] my teammates a little bit of effort on [defense], then they would follow my lead,” Anthony said.
The fourth quarter was a high-intensity, close contest throughout. Deron Williams—back after missing two weeks with an injured wrist—really stepped up his play and carried the Nets down the stretch, scoring 12 points.
Anthony continued to lead and brought the Knicks up by two points to 116–114 with just over a minute to go in the game.
Lopez would fail to score on a layup on the next possession, and the Knicks would score on foul shots on the next two possessions to seal the win. The last pair came from Billups, who had his best game so far with New York, scoring 33 points and going 10–10 from the line.
