After making just two shots during his trip to China, Jordan Farmar looked really happy to be back home Tuesday night.
The Nets’ backup point guard sunk five threes and scored all of his team-high 21 points in the second half during a furious Nets rally that fell short in a 117-111 defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks.
After an evenly-matched first quarter, the Knicks outscored New Jersey 41-23 in the second quarter and led by 16 at the half, led by 23 of Amare Stoudemire’s game high 39 points.
The Nets’ defense turned it on in the third quarter and their shooters started to heat up from deep. Anthony Morrow started the half with two quick threes, but it wasn’t until the last four minutes of the quarter that the Nets started to make a dent in the Knicks’ double-digit advantage. That’s when Farmar knocked down three triples in under three minutes to bring the Nets all the way back. Terrence Williams’ layup with nine seconds remaining gave the Nets an 81-80 advantage.
Farmar knocked down two more threes early in the fourth, but the Knicks started trading punches with the Nets, including two 3-pointers by Bill Walker. Halfway through the quarter, Stoudemire, who notched a double-double with 11 rebounds, carried the Knicks to victory, scoring 10 points in the final six minutes. Toney Douglas, who tallied 24 points off the bench, knocked down a 3-pointer with 37 seconds to go that sealed the Knicks’ win, their third in six preseason games.
The Nets (3-4) got 19 points and eight boards from Brook Lopez in the losing effort. Derrick Favors had a nice bounce-back game after struggling in his last few outings, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds despite fouling out in 19 minutes of action. Williams chipped in with 15 points and four assists, but had six turnovers.
The Nets will travel to Boston to take on the Celtics in their preseason finale tomorrow night.
(Photo courtesy of YardBarker.com)