(Sports Network) - After a brief return home, the New York Knicks get back to
work on the road Monday when they take on a new local rival, the Brooklyn
Nets, at Barclays Center.
These two teams were supposed to kick off the season Nov. 1 in Brooklyn, but
Hurricane Sandy put a halt to those plans.
The Knicks have lost two straight and three of four road games, and got back
into the win column with a 121-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons Sunday at
Madison Square Garden. Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 29 points and made 10
of his 18 attempts, while J.R. Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Rasheed Wallace netted 15 points off the bench and Raymond Felton posted 14
and 10 assists for the Knicks, who are 5-0 at home this season and third in
the NBA with 103.4 ppg. Anthony is third in the NBA with 25.6 ppg.
"We just had to get back to trusting each other on the defensive end," Anthony
said. "The last couple of games, we weren't sticking to our defensive
standard, but we got back to it today."
New York will also visit Milwaukee on its quick trek and is 4-3 as the guest.
With a win Monday night, the Knicks will join the Miami Heat as the only teams
with 10-plus wins in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn has won two in a row since a two-game slide and won for the seventh
time in nine tries with Sunday's 98-85 triumph versus the visiting Portland
Trail Blazers.
Joe Johnson led the Nets with 21 points and Deron Williams chipped in 15 and
12 assists. Brook Lopez added 15 points and eight rebounds for a Nets team
that is now 6-1 at home and 2-0 on a three-game residency.
"You can't really compare this team to other years. It's a totally different
team," said Brooklyn forward Kris Humphries, who ended with 14 points and 10
rebounds. "I think we played well in the fourth quarter and we just kept
getting stops."
After hosting the nearby Knicks, the Nets, who departed New Jersey in the
offseason, will hit the road for three contests against Boston, Orlando and
Miami.
Both the Knicks and Nets sit atop the Atlantic Division standings. New York
took two of three meetings between the teams a season ago and has won nine of
the previous 12 matchups in the series.
The Sports Network