At the beginning of play Friday night, the Nets controlled the key tiebreakers among the four teams fighting for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. In addition to already winning season series with their two closest rivals, the Hawks and Bulls, the Nets also have the only winning conference record among the four hopefuls at 21-19. Head-to-head play is the first tiebreaker, conference record is the second.
- The Eastern Scramble - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger