The New York Knicks played their rivals across the river tonight, the New Jersey Nets. The Nets will be moving to Brooklyn next season so this was the final time the two squared off before the franchises share the same city.
The Knicks came off a great win over the Boston Celtics, a game in which they knocked down 19 three-point shots. The entire squad was hot from the field led by Steve Novak and J.R. Smith.
That fire continued over to tonight's game and the Knicks completely dominated the Nets in the opening quarter. Carmelo Anthony could not miss and was knocking down shots from everywhere on the court. This time he was the man firing from the three-point line and that helped the Knicks get off to a 38-22 lead after one.
The Knicks did not outplay the Nets in the second quarter like they did in the first, but still Anthony was feeling it on the court. After 24 minutes of play, the Knicks held a 64-47 lead. Anthony led the way for the Knicks with 27 points and five shots from the three-point line.
In the third quarter, however, the Knicks were held to only 14 points. New York's offense was not flowing like it once was and the squad was having trouble scoring. The Nets turned their fortunes around and were the ones who were clicking on all cylinders. Going into the final period, the Knicks and Nets were in a heated battle despite the early dominance by the Knicks.
In the final period, the Knicks returned to their full form and finished off the Nets. The Nets did make the game interesting at times, but at the end of the day, Carmelo Anthony was just too much. New York relied on their superstar to close out the opponent and he made timely buckets all quarter long.
As the final buzzer rang, the Knicks won 104-95 behind 33 points from Carmelo Anthony. Anthony added in seven points and four assists to go with those points.
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