The next chapter in the Battle of New York takes place Wednesday night as the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks face off for in-state pride. The Nets and Knicks are certainly two different teams than they were when they first faced off. Brooklyn has officially clinched a playoff spot while New York remains in the hunt as both are hoping to climb the ladder in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets are officially in the postseason after beating the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. Without Dwight Howard on the court, Joe Johnson put up 32 points while Shaun Livingston added another 17. The team has now won their 14th straight home game, their longest streak of the season. Brooklyn Now sits 1 ½ games behind Toronto and Chicago for the No. 3 seed in the conference. However, playing back-to-back games does not help their cause. Brooklyn is 5-11 in back-to-back games this season.
March has been kind to the team. The Nets went 12-4 overall while Jason Kidd won monthly coaching honors. They are averaging 108.3 points per game, while going 7-2 in their last nine games. This has all been without Kevin Garnett who missed the entire month with back spasms.
The Knicks are barely hanging on, trailing the Atlanta Hawks by one game for the final playoff spot in the East. The team has won their last 11 of 14. The Hawks face Chicago on Wednesday and as the team suffers from numerous injuries, a win for New York could secure them the spot.
The Knicks have been winning by defense this past stretch. They limited both the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz to an average of 83.5 points while going 3-2 on a Western Conference road trip despite a bad loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks excelled against the Jazz as Carmelo Anthony put up 34 points and Tyson Chandler added 15 and nine rebounds. The Knicks are hoping their recent momentum gets them past the Nets as both battle for pride of the city.
