Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times
The last of Joe Johnson's 25 points came on this late shot to help the Nets win.
Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times
Knicks center Tyson Chandler, who had 7 points and 11 rebounds, was foiled on this shot by the Nets' Brook Lopez, who scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds.
The opportunity was there for the Knicks. They entered Monday's game with a chance to win the season series against the Nets.
Instead, the Knicks could not stop the Nets in the final minute, falling, 88-85, at Madison Square Garden. For the first time since November, the Nets are only a game behind the Knicks in the Atlantic Division.
The Knicks rallied in the third quarter with a 10-0 surge to seemingly take control of the game. They forced the Nets into 19 turnovers, including six steals by Jason Kidd. To make matters worse for the Nets, they were held without a point for five minutes in the fourth quarter. But Joe Johnson, the coveted off-season acquisition, played like a star, finally, when the Nets were desperate for a basket, scoring a team-high 25 points. His most important shot came on a fadeaway jumper over J. R. Smith with 22.3 seconds remaining that gave the Nets an 85-84 lead.
"I thought we did a good job defensively," Tyson Chandler said. "Joe Johnson made some tough shots. Our effort was there, but you have to give them credit. They beat us."
Carmelo Anthony had his opportunity to give the Knicks the victory, but he shot an air ball — missing the backboard and the rim — on a difficult, off-balanced baseline jumper with 12 seconds remaining.
Anthony led the Knicks with 29 points but was often off target, hitting just 11 of 29 shots.
"I missed it," he said of his final shot. "I didn't execute, and I didn't make shots down the stretch. I should have made those shots."
Smith tried to force overtime with a 3-pointer as time expired, but the shot bounced off the rim.
"I kind of altered my shot a little bit," Smith said. "They had three hands in my face. They did a good job of contesting."
The win for the Nets was critical as they split the season series two games apiece. If both teams finished the season with the same record, the tiebreaker would be their division records. The Nets have a 9-3 record against Atlantic opponents. The Knicks are 4-3.
"If we're talking about staying at the top and winning our division, you can't have any hiccups," Knicks Coach Mike Woodson said before the game. "This game is very important, and we have to treat it that way."
Since P. J. Carlesimo took over for Avery Johnson, the Nets have won 11 of 13 games. They are trying to figure out what kind of team they are — the group that won 11 games in November, the team that lost 10 of 13 games in December, or the one that has surged under Carlesimo.
As significant as the win was for the Nets (25-16), it also validated their resurgence under Carlesimo and established that they can contend with the Knicks (25-14) for the division title for the remainder of the season.
That realization for the Knicks seemed to upset Smith the most after the game.
"Being 2-2 against them stinks," he said. "It's like kissing your sister. We just have to figure out a way to win divisional games."
The Knicks have lost their last two divisional games — both at home — and have two more coming on the road, against the Boston Celtics on Thursday and the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
"We have to get that win," Smith said of playing the Celtics, who beat them, 102-96, two weeks ago.
Losing at the Garden is the biggest concern for Smith. The Knicks started the season 10-0 at home, but have lost 6 of their last 10 games there.
"We have a great crowd, and for us not to play the way we're capable of — and always having to fight back in the second half — is disrespectful to them, and we should be embarrassed by it," he said.
The feeling in the Knicks' locker room was different from when they embarrassed the Nets, 100-86, to push their lead in the division to six games a month ago. The Knicks know they cannot ignore the Nets, even though the two teams will not face each other in the second half of the season.
"I think it's going to be a nice fight down the stretch for the division," Chandler said.
REBOUNDS
Amar'e Stoudemire provided pregame lunch for Madison Square Garden employees to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ...The restriction on Iman Shumpert's minutes was increased to 20 before the game, Mike Woodson said. Shumpert, who played his second game of the season against the Nets, was asked to guard Joe Johnson. "I'm going to try to play him in five-minute spurts," Woodson said. Shumpert finished with 2 points and 4 rebounds. ...Raymond Felton, who has been out since Dec. 25 with a fracture right pinkie finger, hopes to return for Saturday's game. "That's what I'm hoping for," Felton said before Monday's game. Woodson was more cautious about Felton and said he did not know when Felton would be cleared for full-contact practices. ...In the first quarter, Tyson Chandler received a technical for yelling at a referee after his follow-up dunk. It was Chandler's seventh technical of the season. ...The Knicks declined to comment on whether microphones were used to monitor what was said to Carmelo Anthony, as they were during the previous two home games. There did not appear to be any parabolic microphones near the court, but it was unclear if there were microphones located elsewhere.
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