Nets Win Again
With only one loss since changing their head coach, the Nets have regained much of the ground they gave up during an abysmal month of December.
For much of Sunday’s game against the Pacers, it looked as though one more notch in the loss column would have to be made. Despite leading by 6 after the first period, Brooklyn found themselves trailing 49-46 at the half. The differential would grow by 3 entering the final quarter, but a lopsided finally to the game put the Nets over 97-86 as they held Indiana to only 11 points in the fourth.
Deron Williams and Joe Johnson did most of the damage, scoring 22 and 20 respectively. Brook Lopez backed them up with 15 points while Kris Humphries had 10; they both had 9 rebounds.
Last night’s game against the Raptors was a bit more one-sided. After leaving the first period tied at 27, the Nets took a 51-48 lead in the second and never gave the lead back.
The game ended 113-106, as Lopez strung together 22 points and Johnson and Williams both scored 21. With this win, the Nets are now 23-15, trailing the Knicks by only a game and a half.
Brooklyn plays Atlanta tonight at 7:30.
Knicks Snap Cold Streak
Having lost all three of their games last week, the Knicks were in desperate need of a win when they hosted the New Orleans Hornets. Unfortunately the night did not get off to a positive start, with New York trailing by 7 after the first quarter.
A dominant defensive showing in the second period turned the tide, however; the Knicks held the Hornets to just 12 points on the quarter as they went up 49-41 entering halftime. The lead held steady, and New York came out on top by a final of 100-87.
Carmelo Anthony had 27 points on the night, with rookie Chris Copeland scoring 22. Amar’e Stoudemire put up 12 points in his 23 minutes of play, and is expected to soon begin playing 25-30 minutes per night.
The Knicks play a matinée against the Pistons tomorrow at 3 PM.
