The Nets are not afraid of the Knicks or the Melo Mics. They believe they are coming into their own under P.J. Carlesimo. If that’s the case, look out Knicks come Monday at the Garden.
Some Nets had fun at the expense of those prying MSG microphones set up to record Carmelo Anthony’s on-court conversations.
“It made me think of the feds,’’ forward Reggie Evans told The Post with a smile after hauling in a mighty 20 rebounds in the Nets’ 94-89 win over the Hawks last night at Barclays Center. “I guess they hired the feds at Madison Square Garden to record conversations and stuff. There must be some illegal stuff going on at Madison Square Garden.
“It will be fun to play on Martin Luther King Day,’’ he added, “especially to get a win.’’
The Nets believe they are a better team than the last time these teams met on Dec. 19.
“It’s going to be frenzy, two teams fighting hard,’’ Joe Johnson said. “They beat us twice in a row. We want to even the series.’’
After Wednesday night’s loss to the Hawks in Atlanta, a defeat that ended the Nets’ seven-game winning streak, they got back to their winning ways by coming up with a strong fourth quarter. with
Deron Williams was a free-throw ace down the stretch. He sank four straight after the Hawks had cut the lead to 90-89 with 1:02 remaining, stretching his consecutive free-throw streak to 47.
After scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half, Johnson said the Nets have changed as a team.
“We’re a lot more confident,’’ he said. “We’re a different team than last time.’’
Johnson said of the Carmelo Anthony microphones: “It is a little different. I guess it could make a difference for guys who trash-talk. Trash talk isn’t meant for everybody to hear. It’s part of the game. Some guys make it personal, guys just trying to get in your head. As a player you can’t let trash talk affect you.
“To be honest with you, I don’t get trash-talked to and I don’t trash talk. It definitely wouldn’t do any good to point the mic at me.’’
When the Nets beat the Knicks in their first meeting this season, the Nets held the Knicks to 89 points through overtime. In the Nets’ two losses, the Knicks scored 100 points.
Williams, who led all scorers with 24 points last night, said both the teams have improved.
“It’s a really big game for us, they’ve beat us twice now,’’ he said. “It’s a huge game.”
Williams did not want to talk about his free-throw streak.
“It’s like a no-hitter,’’ he said. “If a guy is throwing a no-hitter, you don’t go to the bench and say something to him.’’
Spike Lee gave the Nets a little jab in London before the Knicks hammered the pitiful Pistons. Asked by a British journalist what it’s like to have another team in New York, Spike countered: “Who’s the other team?’’
Spike said Monday’s game is already in the victory column for the Knicks: “That’s a win, too.’’
We’ll see. The Nets feel they are a much different team under Carlesimo (10-2) than they were under Avery Johnson.
The Nets are in second place in the Atlantic Division, three games back of the Knicks in the loss column. Before the game, Carlesimo said the Nets’ transition defense had to be about “400 times’’ better than it was in Wednesday night’s loss to the speedy Hawks.
It wasn’t that much better, but it was better.
As for the pivotal fourth quarter, Carlesimo said of his team: “We didn’t fall asleep. Our guys did a nice job of bouncing back.’’
On Monday, the bright lights of the Garden will be on the Nets once again — and so will the Melo Mics.
The Nets must keep improving. They insist they are ready for the challenge.