SB Nation New York - Knicks defeat Nets: Carmelo Anthony scores 45 in 100-97 victoryhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48977/ny-fave.png2012-12-12T10:33:55-05:00http://newyork.sbnation.com/rss/stream/35183652012-12-12T10:33:55-05:002012-12-12T10:33:55-05:00Jason Kidd still defying Father Time
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<p><span>Carmelo Anthony</span> poured in an amazing 45 points Tuesday night as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">New York Knicks</a> defeated the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/">Brooklyn Nets</a>, 100-97. It seemed all anyone wanted to talk about, however, was the continued amazing play of <span>Jason Kidd</span>, who nailed the game-winning three-point shot in the closing seconds.</p>
<p>Kidd had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes that had to make you forget he is a 39-year-old role player who isn't supposed to impact games like that anymore. For that matter he isn't supposed to impact teams the way he has impacted the Knicks this season.</p>
<p>Kidd is averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 assists this season. His impact, though, goes far beyond that. He's too slow to defend anyone at this point in his career, and not explosive enough to drive the ball at the rim and create opportunities for himself or other players.</p>
<p>Yet he has remade himself into a three-point specialist, a team defender, a guy makes the basketball move and helps teammates get shots in the right places. He's also a leader who helps make his team believe a run at an NBA title is a possibility for the Knicks this time around.</p>
<p>Pretty amazing for a guy who is supposed to be a bit player at this point in his career.</p>
<p>Here is more reaction to Kidd's performance.</p>
<p><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20121212/knicks-nets-jason-kidd/">Jason Kidd, Knicks show no signs of slowing down in win over Nets - NBA - Chris Mannix - SI.com</a><br>Twenty-something-year-old players, take note: The secret to longevity in the league is one Kidd uncovered years ago. Most players on Kidd's level can't be bothered to adapt, can't be talked into changing. <span>Allen Iverson</span> could still be a contributing sixth man if he didn't find a reserve role insulting. <span>Gilbert Arenas</span> would be wearing an NBA uniform, not a Chinese one, if he better adjusted to his limitations. Few understand that when age catches up to you, you need something to beat it back. <br><br> "I've always taken pride in defense, in competing," said Kidd. "But at some point you have to be able to do something different. That's when I felt if I'm going to be around in this game for a little bit, I have to make a jump shot."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/21368016/veteran-kidd-showing-he-can-guide-melo-and-knicks-to-championship">Veteran Kidd showing he can guide Melo and Knicks to championship - NBA - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice</a><br>As the horn sounded and the curtain went down on another episode of basketball theater between the Knicks and Nets, a 39-year-old man stood near the 3-point line and drove his fist toward the herring bone-patterned floor at the Barclays Center. And in the locker room afterward, it was Jason Kidd who had a question he wanted answered.</p>
<p><a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/30452/kidd-makes-his-mark-on-cross-river-rivalry">Kidd makes his mark on cross-river rivalry - Knicks Blog - ESPN New York</a><br>After the game, Kidd, who has the third-most 3-point makes in NBA history, said he realized earlier in his career that he needed to further develop his outside shot in order to continue playing past his prime. That realization came when he was in New Jersey about 10 years ago, when he was "slowing down a bit." Now, he's the league's best 3-point shooter this season at 53.0 percent accuracy. <br><br> "I knew that if I wanted to play longer, I had to make a shot from the 3-point line," he said. "If I was going to play, I had to hit some shots. It's helped by working hard." <br><br> "He has a brilliant basketball IQ," <span>Tyson Chandler</span> said. "He makes shot after shot, play after play -- whether it's a steal, whether it's a 3, whether it's diving for a ball. He just makes play after play after play, and I don't understand it. That's the reason why he's a Hall of Famer."</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/12/3758564/jason-kidd-nba-new-york-knicks-bnrooklyn-netsEd Valentine2012-12-11T22:02:03-05:002012-12-11T22:02:03-05:00Knicks claim victory in second Battle of New York
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<figcaption>Al Bello</figcaption>
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<p>Carmelo Anthony kept the Knicks in the game all night, scoring 45, and Jason Kidd's late three clinched a victory for the Knicks, 100-97, in the season's second meeting between New York and Brooklyn. </p> <p>The rivalry is certainly renewed as the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Knicks</a> and <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Brooklyn Nets</a> did battle again on Tuesday night in thrilling fashion, with <span>Carmelo Anthony's</span> 45 points and <span>Jason Kidd's</span> late three sealing a 100-97 victory for the Knicks from the new Barclay's Center.</p>
<p>Kidd's three pointer with less than 30 seconds remaining proved the final margin of victory for the Knicks, who handed the Nets their fifth straight loss. But it was Anthony who paced the Knicks all night, scoring 22 points in the first half and 23 in the second to keep the Knicks in the game despite a fast start from the Nets.</p>
<p>Behind forward <span>Andray Blatche's</span> 23 points and guard <span>Deron Williams's</span> double-double of 18 points and 10 assists, the Nets stormed out to a big early lead and held on most of the night.</p>
<p>Finally, with less than three minutes remaining, the Knicks took their first lead of the night at 93-91. The Nets battled back to tie the score a few times from there, but could not avoid falling to the Knicks after a few shots at a game-tying three-pointer with the clock winding down went begging.</p>
<p><span>J.R. Smith</span> was also big off the bench in the Knicks' 16th win of the season, scoring 16 points in 32 minutes played.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/11/3757182/knicks-nets-score-recap-boxscore-news-nba-resultsAsher Feldman2012-12-11T15:51:29-05:002012-12-11T15:51:29-05:00Rasheed Wallace listed as probable
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<p>New York's veteran forward is expected to return Tuesday night when the Knicks visit the Nets (7 p.m. on ESPN).</p> <p><span>Rasheed Wallace's</span> health status for the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Knicks</a>' Tuesday matchup against the host <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Brooklyn Nets</a> has been upgraded to probable, <a href="http://www.nba.com/nets/news/nets-vs-knicks-game-20">according to the pregame report from NBA.com</a>.</p>
<p>The veteran forward missed Sunday's win over the <a href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Denver Nuggets</a> with a sore left foot, but he plans on playing in the second showdown between the two New York-based teams.</p>
<p>On Nov. 26, Wallace scored six points in 23 minutes in the Knicks' 96-89 overtime loss to the Nets at the Barclays Center. Overall, the 38-year-old Wallace is averaging 7.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Wallace <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/knicks/2012/12/rasheed-wallace-plans-to-play-for-knicks-against-nets">told the New York Daily News' Peter Botte </a>he was looking forward to the showdown:</p>
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<p>"I’m looking forward to (facing the Nets), to be honest. They’re a physical team, a big team, and we are too. It came down to the wire last time, went to overtime, and I’m thinking it’s going to be that same type of game tonight."</p>
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<p>Also listed as probable for the Knicks (15-5) is center <span>Marcus Camby</span>, who's also dealing with plantar fasciitis. The Nets (11-8) will be without center <span>Brook Lopez</span>.</p>
<p>Tuesday's contest will be the second of four meetings between New York and Brooklyn this season.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/11/3755894/knicks-vs-nets-rasheed-wallace-injury-updateJared Smith2012-12-11T11:14:16-05:002012-12-11T11:14:16-05:00Knicks, Nets clash in second battle for NYC
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<figcaption>Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>If the Brooklyn Nets want to repeat an overtime victory over their crosstown foes, the New York Knicks, they'll have to do it without Brook Lopez. The Knicks have won six of seven since the first meeting between the teams.</p> <p>The second leg of the crosstown rivalry between the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">New York Knicks</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/">Brooklyn Nets</a> will be played Tuesday nights, pitting two teams that have headed in different directions since Brooklyn's 96-89 overtime victory earlier this season.</p>
<p>For Brooklyn, that win was part of a five-game win streak, led by 22-point, 11-rebound effort by <span>Brook Lopez</span>. But he won't be there to face off against <span>Tyson Chandler</span>, as he'll miss his sixth straight game with a sprain in his right foot. Unsurprisingly, the team has lost four straight without their leading scorer. <span>Andray Blatche</span> has actually been decent putting points on the scoreboard in Lopez' absence, but he isn't the player Lopez is.</p>
<p>The killer for New York in the first game was poor shooting, as despite 35 points from <span>Carmelo Anthony</span> and a 12-for-13, 28-point night for Tyson Chandler, the team missed 15 of 21 threes and shot only 39 percent from the floor. That will happen sometimes, but not often: New York is second in the league with 110.2 points per 100 possessions, behind only the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>. Against the Nets, the team's ball movement disappeared at times with <span>Raymond Felton</span> taking 19 shots, hitting only three, but since the return of <span>Jason Kidd</span> from a back injury, the passing has been fluid and the shots have been falling. New York's only loss in the seven games since playing Brooklyn came without Anthony on the road against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a>, with a blowout win over the defending champion <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a> since.</p>
<p>The game is at 7 p.m. on ESPN in Brooklyn, although the Barclays Center didn't exactly provide a homecourt advantage in the first game as the crowd was fairly split between Knicks and Nets fans.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/11/3754668/knicks-vs-nets-2012-nba-schedule-eastern-conference-standings-brook-lopez-carmelo-anthonyRodger Sherman2012-12-11T11:03:00-05:002012-12-11T11:03:00-05:00Nets' Lopez to miss 6th straight game vs. Knicks
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<figcaption>Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Brook Lopez won't be available for the Brooklyn Nets in their crosstown matchup against the New York Knicks. The team's leading scorer, Lopez has been out for all four games in the team's current losing streak.</p> <p><span>Brook Lopez</span> will be out again with a sprained right foot when the <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Brooklyn Nets</a> take on the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Knicks</a> Tuesday night, his sixth game on the sidelines with the injury.</p>
<p>It hasn't been an easy go for the Nets without their leading scorer. They've lost four of the five games since Lopez hit the bench, with their only win coming against the lowly <a href="https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Orlando Magic</a>. Andray Blatche has actually filled in admirably at the center spot, scoring in double digits all five games with two 20-point outings, including a Saturday night loss to the <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Golden State Warriors</a>. But the injury has affected the team's depth. Instead of Blatche providing a scoring boost off the bench, the talented, but notably inconsistent big man is playing over 30 minutes a game, with reserve rookie <span>Mirza Teletovic</span> forced into real minutes.</p>
<p>The Nets have only played seven games this season with their ideal starting five, as <span>Gerald Wallace</span> missed seven of the team's first nine games and Lopez has missed the last five.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/11/3754686/brook-lopez-nets-vs-knicks-injury-updateRodger Sherman2012-12-11T08:00:48-05:002012-12-11T08:00:48-05:00Knicks-Nets: Classic NY-Brooklyn rivalries of old
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">New York Knicks</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/">Brooklyn Nets</a> are in the fledgling stages of another New York-Brooklyn rivalry, with round two coming on Tuesday night. The Brooklyn <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bigblueview.com/">New York Giants</a> were the No. 1 Brooklyn-New York rivals, as they loathed each other, and have carried that hatred with them to California. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> and Dodgers also staged a rivalry while the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, facing each other seven times in the World Series. There have been a number of other major-league Brooklyn teams, though, besides the Dodgers. In baseball, there were a pair of Brooklyn clubs that played for one season in 1890, the Gladiators and Ward's Wonders, and the Brooklyn Tip-Tops played in the Federal League (a brief rival to the Major Leagues) in 1914 and '15. The New York Americans (born in 1925) of the NHL played their final season in Brooklyn (while renaming themselves the Brooklyn Americans) in 1941-'42. And there was a quartet of Brooklyn football teams: early-NFLers the Lions and Tigers, the Horsemen of the short-lived American Football League in 1926 and the Dodgers of the All-America Football Conference in the 1940s. Here are four Brooklyn vs. New York classics with one obscure matchup thrown in to mix things up.</p>
<p><b>5. New York (Football) Giants vs. Brooklyn Lions, 1926:</b> We're tossing in a wild card here to avoid an all-Dodgers list. The Lions lasted all of one season in the NFL, and for their last three games they were merged with another Brooklyn team. C.C. Pyle and Red Grange formed the American Football League after being thwarted by Tim Mara in their attempts to gain an NFL franchise to play in Yankee Stadium. The Brooklyn Horsemen (so named because they featured two of Notre Dame's famed Four Horsemen) were one of the teams in the rival league, but after only four games, and fighting with the Lions for the right to play at Ebbets Field, they merged with their NFL counterpart. The influx of new players didn't help as the Lions lost their last three games, one, 20-0, to the Los Angeles Californians, and the last two to the Giants. The first meeting occurred on Nov. 25, with the Giants winning, 17-0, at Ebbets Field, and three days later, the Giants came out victorious once again, winning 27-0 at the Polo Grounds, in the last-ever game for the Lions-Horsemen. The Lions finished the season with a 3-8 record before folding, while the Giants went 8-4-1. The Giants, in their second year of existence, had six shutout wins that season, while getting shut out four times themselves. The Frankford Yellow Jackets were crowned NFL Champions, with a 14-1-2 record in '26.</p>
<p><b>4. 1941 World Series, NY Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers: </b>This was the third overall World Series appearance for the Dodgers, after losing to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Boston Red Sox</a> (and their star left-handed pitcher Babe Ruth) in 1916 and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.letsgotribe.com/">Cleveland Indians</a> in 1920 (whose second baseman, Bill Wambsganss, turned an unassisted triple play in the Series), and the first time they would face the Yankees. Leo Durocher was in his third season as Brooklyn's manager (100-54 that year) and they featured a 2010 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a>-like roster of castoffs, with Ducky Medwick, Dolph Camilli, Dixie Walker and Billy Herman coming from elsewhere to team up with youngsters Pee Wee Reese and Pete Reiser,. The Yankees, on the other hand, were stacked with Hall of Famers and All-Stars, with Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Charlie Keller, Tommy Henrich, Joe Gordon and Phil Rizzuto, and finished with a 101-53 record. The Yankees headed into the infamous Game 4 with a two games to one lead, but the Dodgers looked like they were about to tie the Series up, leading 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. But Hugh Casey's curveball (or possibly a spitter) deflected off catcher Mickey Owen's glove as Henrich swung at strike three. The Yankee outfielder made it safely to first, and DiMaggio followed with a single and Keller drove them both in with a double. The Yanks added two more runs, and won, 7-4. The Yankees won the next game, 3-1, to win the Series. Dodger second baseman Herman stated, "We were licked before we went out on the field the next day. We couldn't have beaten a girls' team."</p>
<p><b>3. 1956 World Series, NY Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers:</b> This was the seventh and final World Series between the two teams while the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. The Yankees finished the season with a 97-57 record, while the Dodgers went 93-61. Brooklyn won the first game, 6-3, with Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges homering off Whitey Ford, and they knocked Don Larsen out of Game 2 in the second inning, going on to win, 13-8. The Yankees bounced back to win the next two games, setting up Game 5 and Larsen's perfect game, which the Yankees won, 2-0, with Mickey Mantle homering off Sal Maglie. Larsen was an average pitcher in all respects and an unlikely candidate to throw the only perfect game in World Series history. And he loved the nightlife. Yankee starting pitcher Bob Turley said of his teammate about his pre-perfect game condition, "He'd slept only about half an hour the night before so he went to the training room and took a nap until noon, an hour before the game." After the game Larsen stated, "Phooey on all this deep thinking stuff. I only shook off a couple of Yogi's signals, but he stuck with them, so I went ahead and pitched what he called." The Series wasn't over, though, as Brooklyn won Game 6, a 10-inning 1-0 pitcher's duel, with both Clem Labine and Turley going the distance. Robinson knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. But there wouldn't be any Game 7 drama, as the Yankees cruised to a 9-0 victory, powered by two Yogi Berra home runs and one each by Elston Howard and Moose Skowron.</p>
<p><b>2. 1955 World Series, NY Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers: </b>Brooklyn finally didn't have to "Wait till next year" as they won their one and only World Series before moving to LA. They went 98-55 that year, with the Yankees producing a 96-58 mark. The Yankees won the first two games, 6-5 and 4-2, with Robinson's famous steal of home taking place in the opener. Up to that point, no team had come back from a 2-0 deficit to win the World Series, and Robinson gave the Dodgers a pep talk after the Game 2 loss. And it worked, as Dodger lefty Johnny Podres threw a complete game on his 23rd birthday, winning 8-3. The Dodgers won the next two games as well, and with his two homers in Game 5, Duke Snider became the first player to hit four home runs in two different World Series. The Yankees came back to win Game 6, behind Whitey Ford's complete game, but the Dodgers would finally defeat the Yankees, when Podres tossed a complete-game shutout in Game 7, with Hodges driving in both Dodger runs. In the sixth inning, left fielder Sandy Amoros made one of the most famous catches in World Series history, gloving a slicing Yogi Berra drive down the left-field line (and he relayed the ball to Reese for a double play). Snider said of the young World Series MVP, Podres, "We were getting on to our team bus at Ebbets Field," [and Podres] "hopped up the steps, started down the aisle, and told us with all the confidence in the world: ‘Just get me one run today. That's all I'll need. Just one.'" And he proved to be prophetic.</p>
<p><b>1. 1951 NL Playoff, NY Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers: </b>Here's the rivalry that the Knicks and Nets can emulate, as the Giants and Dodgers had an intense hatred for each other and their rivalry was bigger than Yankees-Dodgers or today's Yankees-<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">New York Mets</a> rivalry. Leo Durocher's "Nice guys finish last" quote (which was not exactly what he said but has been condensed into a pithy saying) was said about Bill Terry and the Giants. And a few years before that, Terry said of the Dodgers, "Are they still in the league?" Everybody remembers Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round the World, but that 1951 playoff was actually a three-game series. After winning 12 of their final 13 games to catch the Dodgers, the Giants won the first game of the tiebreaking series, when, after falling behind 1-0 on Dodger Andy Pafko's home run, Thomson blasted a two-run shot off Branca to foreshadow his famous homer. Monte Irvin added a solo homer, and the Giants won, 3-1, with Jim Hearn going the distance to win his 17th game of the year. The Dodgers won Game 2 in a laugher, 10-0. Labine threw a complete game, and Pafko, Robinson, Hodges and Rube Walker all homered. The Dodgers drew first blood in the final game, on a Robinson RBI, but Thomson hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to tie it. The game seemed to be over when Brooklyn scored three runs in the eighth on a Sal Maglie wild pitch and Pafko and Billy Cox run-scoring singles, but the Giants rallied in the bottom of the ninth, with Alvin Dark leading off with a single, followed by a Don Mueller single, a Monte Irvin pop out to first and a Whitey Lockman double, setting up Thomson's heroics. Branca replaced Don Newcombe and the rest is history. There were future Mets all around Thomson when he homered: future pitching coach Rube Walker was behind the plate for the Dodgers, Willie Mays was on deck and future Met manager Wes Westrum was up after Mays (not to mention Branca being Bobby Valentine's father-in-law). The Giants, though, would lose to the Yankees in the World Series, four games to two.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/11/3751974/the-top-5-new-york-vs-brooklyn-knicks-vs-nets-giants-dodgers-yankees-jackie-robinsonJeff Freier2012-12-10T14:56:00-05:002012-12-10T14:56:00-05:00Struggling Nets miss Brook Lopez ... on defense
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<img alt="Brook Lopez blocks a shot by Carmelo Anthony" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/X8fUjoMrayPZCueoYEwSVEWtShQ=/0x340:2940x2300/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/4753953/156988481.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brook Lopez blocks a shot by Carmelo Anthony | Bruce Bennett</figcaption>
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<p>The Brooklyn Nets are 1-4 without starting center Brook Lopez. Somewhat surprisingly it is on the defensive end of the floor where the Nets seem to miss him most.</p> <p><span>Brook Lopez</span> practiced on Monday for the first time since spraining his right foot on November 28 in Boston and is listed as a game-time decision for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/">Brooklyn Nets</a>’ critical game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">New York Knicks</a> on Tuesday night. His status does come with words of caution, which has been common since the man in the middle has been out of action. Head coach Avery Johnson told reporters "The chances he is going to play tomorrow are not very high," so whether Lopez is actually on the court will be determined by his "recovery" Tuesday morning.<br><br>The Nets are crossing their fingers, because they need Lopez back and not a moment too soon. The Brooklynites are 1-4 in the games Lopez (18.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.5 blocks per game) has missed, bottoming out with a discouraging 97-88 loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewhoop.com/">Milwaukee Bucks</a> on Sunday. With owner Mikhail Prokhorov watching his $330 million-plus team from his luxury box, the Nets scored a season-low 31 first-half points on 27.7 percent shooting and trailed by as many as 29 before mounting a fourth-quarter rally.<br><br>It’s already a crisis in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.sactownroyalty.com/">Kings</a> County. Moral victories from the New Jersey Nets were acceptable, not a team with expectations almost as high as Prokhorov’s bank account. Missing Lopez in the paint, the Nets gave up an average of 109.3 points a game in three previous defeats. <span>Andray Blatche</span> has filled in capably, but he’s far from the defensive force that Lopez is and his presence in the starting five has weakened the bench.<br><br>If Lopez is out again on Tuesday, that may be a recipe for disaster against the 15-5 Knicks and their relentless big man, <span>Tyson Chandler</span>. <br><br>"I hope (we’re not playing like we’re waiting for Lopez)," said <span>Deron Williams</span>. "I don’t want to think like that. We definitely want him back but we don’t want to think you can’t win without him. That’s never how you should come into the game, thinking because you don’t have one or two players you don’t have a chance to win."<br><br>After the Knicks on Tuesday, the Nets play two bottom feeders in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.raptorshq.com/">Toronto Raptors</a> on the road and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.detroitbadboys.com/">Detroit Pistons</a> back in Brooklyn before traveling to Chicago to face the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Bulls</a>. Playing four games in five nights isn’t ideal for a slumping team, which adds even more importance to not allow the Knicks to extend the Nets’ losing streak to a season-high five.<br><br>"At the beginning of the season, we talked about not losing two games in a row," Williams said. "We gotta get back to that. If we drop one, we have to be mentally and physically ready to get back and win the next one. We’ve got our backs against the wall right now, and we’ve got to fight our way out of it."<br><br>When the Nets were 11-4, they were powered by defense, holding opponents to 90.4 points per game. During their current slide it’s 97.5 and that’s forced Johnson to make changes, including the benching of <span>Kris Humphries</span> for <span>Reggie Evans</span> on Sunday.<br><br>"Our problem is defense," Johnson said. "We are not the same team defensively. Everything is on the table right now in terms of trying to figure out how to get our team out of this defensive funk.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/12/10/3751740/brooklyn-bummer-struggling-nets-miss-brook-lopezJon Lane