NBA

Top 10 moments in Knicks-Nets rivalry

For most of the past five months, so much time, energy and space went to promoting what NBA team ran New York, Manhattan’s Knicks or Brooklyn’s Nets. Then the teams raced out into the season like drunks on roller skates. Now it isn’t a case of who is better — more like who stinks less. Is this any way to conduct a rivalry?

No, you need moments like Tim Thomas calling Kenyon Martin “Fugazy.” Byron Scott announcing there was no rivalry because a rivalry requires two good teams. That’s rivalry stuff, not sub-.500. So here are 10 of the top Knicks-Nets rivalry moments, in no particular order:

  1. 1. The 1994 Pat Riley-Chuck Daly playoffs fashion show

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    Pat Riley and Chuck Daly's teams - and styles - faced off in 1994. Spencer A. Burnett/Charles Wenzelberg

    The Nets, already down 0-1, found a huge chance in Game 2 when Patrick Ewing was ejected on technicals in the first half. But the Knicks turned to Charles Oakley who amassed 25 points and 24 rebounds. When someone predicted a 20-20 game for Oakley after Ewing’s ejection, Oakley said he “thought he was talking about Barbara Walters’ show.” Riley’s Knicks won the series, 3-1, and Daly resigned from the Nets less than a month later.

  2. 2. Tim Thomas speaks — or loses — his mind

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    The Knicks' Tim Thomas is fouled by the Nets' Jason Collins (right) during a 2004 game. AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

    Injured on a hard foul by Nets’ Jason Collins in Game 1 of the Nets-Knicks 2004 playoffs, Thomas lashed out at — well, everyone.

    He chastised the Knicks for not retaliating after he was fouled. He accused Collins of dirty play. He called Kenyon Martin a “fugazy,” or fake, tough guy. The Knicks responded by losing Games 3 and 4 at home. The Nets swept, 4-0. 

  3. 3. Bernard was King on Christmas Day, 1984

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    Bernard King torched the Nets for 60 points in 1984.

    Bernard King set the Knicks individual team scoring record that still stands: 60 points, including 40 by halftime. He shot 19-of-30 from the floor, 22-of-26 at the line to become just the 10th player to score 60.

    In keeping with the whacky rivalry, the Knicks lost in overtime.

  4. 4. The merger

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    Julius Erving starred for the ABA's Nets, but was later traded to Philadelphia after the franchise joined the NBA. Ron Koch/NBAE via Getty Images

    When the NBA and the ABA merged, the Nets were required to pay the Knicks $4.8 million (about $20 million today) for encroaching on New York territory. The Nets were forced to sell Julius Erving to Philadelphia. Immediately, they went from the ABA champion Nets to the NBA yucky-for-a-long-time Nets.

  5. 5. The Blueprint for Greatness

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    A 2010 billboard showing Jay Z and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov was painted near Madison Square Garden. Allison Joyce

    In July, 2010, the Knicks and owner James Dolan were horrified by a 22-story, 21,375 square-foot billboard near Madison Square Garden featuring Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and then minority share owner/ advisor Jay Z while proclaiming the “Blueprint for Greatness.” Dolan freaked, called the NBA and said the King Kong-sized ad was bad for Garden employees’ morale. Prokhorov continued needling Dolan until last season when another Knick-originated call to the NBA prompted Commissioner David Stern to broker a sit-down luncheon for the two owners. Everything was cordial.

  6. 6. Kidd ’n Steph

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    Jason Kidd and Stephon Marbury battled on the court during their Knicks-Nets years. Anthony J. Causi

    Jason Kidd delighted in torturing the Knicks. But at no time did the fires within Kidd burn hotter than after Stephon Marbury proclaimed, “I know I’m the best point guard in the NBA.”

    In the Kidd Era, the Nets were 20-7 against the Knicks, including 19-4 in games Kidd actually played. One of those defeats was the infamous Kidd “Migraine Game,” Dec. 5, 2007. Just over two months later, Kidd was traded. 

  7. 7. John Starks and Kenny Anderson

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    Kenny Anderson's injury in 1993 brought an end to the Nets' title hopes. Jon SooHoo/NBAE via Getty Images

    In 1992-93, their first season under Chuck Daly, the Nets were forging a Feb. 28 win over the Knicks. But in that game, Starks belted Anderson on a drive to the basket. Anderson tried to break his fall — and broke his left wrist.

    He was done for the season. So were the Nets. They lost 10 of their last 11 games then exited the playoffs in the first round. Starks got a flagrant and $5G fine. Nets fans got irate. 

  8. 8. “BROOOOOK-LYNNNN”

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    Deron Williams shoots against the Knicks on Nov. 26, 2012 - the first match-up of the teams in Brooklyn. Charles Wenzelberg

    The chant that has become a part of the Nets landscape was first heard at an exhibition game in Atlantic City. But it really came alive Nov. 26, 2012 after the Nets beat the Knicks, 96-89, in overtime at Barclays Center — the first meeting between the Knicks and “Brooklyn.”

    The teams were supposed to have opened the 2012-13 season in Brooklyn, but Superstorm Sandy forced a change in plans.

  9. 9. The Orange Sea

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    The final meeting between the Nets and Knicks at Prudential Center, April 18, 2012. Christopher Sadowski

    On April 18, 2012, the last meeting between the two teams in New Jersey, the Knicks decidedly held homecourt advantage as an overwhelming number of fans in the crowd of 18,711 either wore orange or cheered for the Knicks.

    Fans chanted “Dee-Fense” whenever the Nets had the ball. “It was a great Knicks atmosphere,” said Carmelo Anthony (33 points). 

  10. 10. But Larry won in Kansas

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    Larry Brown left the Nets to coach at the University of Kansas near the end of the 1982-83 season. The Denver Post

    In the 1982-83 season, the Nets finished with 49-33, their best record until the Jason Kidd Era. That came despite Larry Brown leaving for the University of Kansas with six games to play.

    “We were a mess,” ex-Net Mike O’Koren said. “And Bernard was impossible to guard.”

    Bernard King set the tone in the first game with 40 points and the Knicks swept the series, 2-0.