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Nets at Knicks, Final Score: Brooklyn Halts New York's Late Comeback with 98-93 Victory at MSG

By Anthony Puccio
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

New York basketball isn't very good right now. Better yet, New York sports in general isn't very good at the moment. Tuesday night, the mediocrity of New York basketball came together to play each other in the most recent 'battle for New York', with the Nets being on the tail end of a 3-7 record in their last 10 competitions, while the Knicks are winners of four of their first 18 games.

It wasn't the prettiest of games, but it was another good finish to add to the Nets vs. Knicks history books.

The Nets were barely able to escape the lowly Knicks and their surging comeback in the fourth quarter, despite converting on only one field goal within the last 3:52 of the game. Brooklyn's lead was hovering around double digits for most of the way -- building their lead as high as 16 in the third quarter -- but the Knicks put together a 9-2 run to cut their deficit to three with 19 seconds remaining. They owned possession, but Carmelo Anthony missed a three with six seconds that would've tied the game. Joe Johnson iced the free throws and the Nets went on to win, 98-93.

The Nets shot 44% from the field and 35% from three, compared to the Knicks' 43% from the field and 39% from three. Neither teams looked pretty on the offensive end. However, the Nets out-rebounded the Knicks 49-40 (21-13 offensive), a stat you rarely see the Nets win -- ranking 23rd in the league -- at 41.3 per game.

"I saw a lot of fight. I saw them being themselves. Hopefully, we can build on this. It was a good win," said Lionel Hollins. "I just thought all the guys played extremely well. We played extremely hard and we kept battling and enduring."

Said Brook Lopez: "Guys were out there. We weren't thinking as much. Still made mistakes. Have lots of room for improvement, but I think a lot of guys were getting to back to what each person is going to do."

Top Performers for Brooklyn: Lopez led the way for the Nets with 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three blocks on 10-of-20 shooting, with 19 of the 23 points scored in the first half. It was the opposite for Joe Johnson, who finished the night with 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block on 7-of-14 shooting, with 15 of the 18 points coming in the second half. Deron Williams also looked good with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds. Kevin Garnett finished with six points of 3-of-11 shooting, but grabbed 13 rebounds (six offensive).

Top Performers for New York: Carmelo Anthony was the primary source of scoring for the Knicks as he finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and one steal on 7-of-22 shooting. Other than Anthony, Jose Calderon (19 points, seven assists) and Amar'e Stoudemire (17 points, nine rebounds) were the only other Knicks' players in double figures.

Stat of the night: The Brooklyn Nets grabbed 21 offensive rebounds which contributed to their 49-40 rebound advantage. Their season-high on the offensive glass prior to tonight's game was 14 against the Orlando Magic.

Quarter by quarter summary:

First quarter ... It took the Nets just three minutes to get their night started on the right foot. They ran out to a quick 10-2 run behind six aggressive points from Brook Lopez and four forced turnovers which translated into six Nets' points. All the momentum was with Brooklyn early.

The Knicks made a few runs of their own, cutting deficit down to five at certain times of the quarter, but the Nets still continued to control the game. They shot 46% from the floor, while Deron Williams and Brook Lopez combined for 13 of the Nets' 27 points. After one, the Nets led, 27-18.

Second quarter ... Like the first quarter, Brook Lopez was a wrecking machine in the second. The Nets' big man was controlling the paint on his offensive side. He scored 11 points in the second quarter alone, with a total of 19 points in 17 minutes on 9-of-15 shooting.

Still, the Knicks worked their way right back into the game. They failed to tie or take the lead at any point in the half, but they outscored the Nets 27-22 in the half and committed the ball over just two times since the 8:36 mark of the first quarter. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks offensive attack with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Jose Calderon also chipped in eight points and four assists in 16 minutes of action.

The Knicks and Nets shot an identical 43% from the field, while the Nets shot 29% from three and the Knicks shot 25% from three. The Nets out-rebounded the Knicks 27-19 in the half, a stat you rarely see the Nets with the upper hand.

The score at the half: Nets 49, Knicks 45.

Third quarter ... The Nets jumped out to a 17-4 run to start the second half, and in the midst of that, they found their biggest lead of the game at 13. The 13 point lead quickly jumped to 16 following a Deron Williams three-pointer, and the Nets had taken complete control, mostly due to their large rebound margin. Kevin Garnett -- who had 12 rebounds, six being offensive -- helped the Nets notch their season-high of 16 offensive rebounds. May I remind you there was still a full fourth quarter remaining.

With all the attention on Brook Lopez, it was Joe Johnson's turn to take over. After scoring just three points on 0-for-4 shooting in the first half, Joe Johnson finished the third quarter with a total of 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block on 5-of-12 shooting. He did it all for Brooklyn, and they were up, 77-64.

Fourth quarter ... The Nets were up double digits throughout the third quarter in what looked to be a runaway game in the making. Through the first six minutes of the fourth, he Knicks cut the deficit down to four, but the Nets answered with a 6-0 spurt to build the lead back to 10.

Timeout Knicks.

Following the timeout, the Knicks went on a 9-2 run to cut the Nets lead down to three with two minutes remaining. The Garden crowd was thunderous and still awaited a big enough moment to explode, but Joe Johnson found an open Deron Williams for three to put the Nets up six.

The Knicks cut the deficit down to three and owned possession with 16 seconds remaining. Despite Derek Fisher attempting to call a timeout, Carmelo Anthony rushed and missed a three-point attempt with nine seconds remaining. The Nets gained possession, iced the free throws and barely won the game.

Final score: Nets 98, Knicks 93.

The Nets will go up against the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday 7:30PM at the Barclays Center.

For more on the New York Knicks, check them out at Posting and Toasting.

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