Knicks go down 17 early to a fired up Nets team (Lopez the latest big man they have no prayer of guarding after trading Mozgov, Turiaf out tonight also), but come back behind a combined 95 points from their big three. Much like Miami the other night, they did not get much help:
Melo/Amare/Billups: 108 minutes, 95 points, 35-64 FG, 19-22 FT, 19 REB, 14 AST.
rest of the team: 132 minutes, 25 points, 11-28 FG, 2-4 FT, 20 REB, 10 AST.
They did get a little help down the stretch, though, three straight baskets from the unlikely Anthony Carter to Shelden Williams combo to take it from 99-100 to 105-100 with six minutes left. Toney Douglas also with a few big plays, including hitting a 3 in the 30 seconds that D'Antoni inexplicably benched the big three at the same time, and an offensive rebound and FTs after an ill-advised Billups three clanked in the last minute.
NY also got some good news on the potential first round draft exchange with Houston. If Houston misses the playoffs and NY makes it, the swap expires worthless, so tonight's HOU loss coupled with MEM/NO wins helps there.