Dec 11, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) shoots over Brooklyn Nets small forward Jerry Stackhouse (42) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Knicks won 100-97. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight, the Manhattan Knicks defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 100-97, handing Brooklyn its 5th straight loss and tying up the season series between the teams at 1-1. Jason Kidd knocked down an open three pointer with 25 seconds left in the game to put Manhattan up by 3. Gerald Wallace and Deron Williams each missed a three point attempt in the dying seconds of the game. Kidd missed the first match-up between these two teams with an injury, but he certainly made his presence felt tonight going 6 of 8 from three point territory. The Knicks have now won 7 of their last 8 games and lead the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn raced out to a big 16 point lead in the first quarter and led 30-16 going into the second quarter. Andray Blatche dominated early in the game against last year’s defensive player of the year, Tyson Chandler. MarShon Brooks also chipped in with some sweet buckets. Reggie Evans finished the game with a season high 18 rebounds.
In the second quarter, the Knicks struck right back as Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith seemingly could not miss. Anthony had the hot hand all night and despite Gerald Wallace’s best efforts to contain him, Carmelo finished with 45 points on 15-24 shooting in 44 minutes. J.R. Smith knocked down numerous contested jump shots and finished with 16 points.
The Nets went on a run in the third quarter and at one point led by 10, with Reggie Evans making great contributions. However, the Knicks led by Carmelo and his hot shooting fought back. In the fourth quarter, Tyson Chandler helped Manhattan get numerous second chance opportunities and of course Kidd buried a game winning three. It bears noting that Knicks’ sharpshooter Steve Novak did not score a single point, yet led his team with a +/- of +12.
For a game box score, click here.
Player grades and notes:
Deron Williams: B-
Williams had some nice passes and finished with 10 assists and only 1 turnover. He also knocked down a sweet isolation jump shot during Brooklyn’s third quarter run. However, he still needs to figure out his three pointer. He went 1 of 6 behind the arc and 6 of 16 overall, finishing with 18 points in 39 minutes. On defense, he did manage to contain Raymond Felton again.
Joe Johnson: B
Johnson was average tonight. He scored 16 points on 7-14 shooting, adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in 40 minutes. He can still do much better.
Gerald Wallace: B
Wallace was unable to contain Carmelo Anthony tonight, as Carmelo knocked down many contested shots. Wallace had a big dunk in the fourth quarter and had a solid game offensively. He finished with 17 points and finally figured out his free throw form, going 7 of 8 from the line. He led the team in minutes with 43.
Reggie Evans: A-
Evans dominated the glass tonight. Reggie did his thing.
Andray Blatche: A-
Blatche continues to fill in well for Brook Lopez, although he got into foul trouble tonight. He scored 23 points on 9-13 shooting and led Brooklyn with a +9. The Nets’ second unit really misses him.
Kris Humphries: INC
Where was the Hump tonight? He only played 8 minutes and may be falling out of Brooklyn’s rotation.
Jerry Stackhouse: C
Jerry seems to be losing his magic.
MarShon Brooks: B+
MarShon was given a chance to start fighting for more minutes tonight, and Brooks responded well. He finished with 9 points on 4-7 shooting, scoring in MarSwaggy ways.
In context
The Nets have now lost 5 in a row and play the Toronto Raptors in Canada, tomorrow at 7:00. The Raptors are not very good and Brooklyn should really win this game. We are now a quarter of the way through the season and Nets fans should be overall encouraged by their team. The Nets really miss Brook Lopez right now.