Here are three thoughts on the Nets’ 110-81 loss to the Knicks Wednesday night at the Garden:
1. Is sixth place now more likely than third or fourth? It appears that way after the Nets were demolished by their crosstown rivals on the same night the Raptors (third), Bulls (fourth) and Wizards (sixth) picked up wins.
The Nets are now two games behind both the Raptors and Bulls in the loss column – which really is three, because they lose the tie-breakers to both teams – and two games ahead of the Wizards in the loss column, also losing a potential tie-breaker with Washington.
The Nets are 5-12 in second halves of back-to-backs after Wednesday’s debacle. With three back-to-backs remaining, the Nets likely will drop a few more games here over their final seven despite just one (next Tuesday against the Heat) coming against a team with a winning record. If the Wizards get hot, we could see the Nets fall out of the 4-5 matchup.
The Nets also would lose the tie-breaker to the seventh-seeded Bobcats, but it would take a massive fall – the Nets lead by four games in the loss column – for that to come into play.
2. Early on, it looked like the Nets were going to be fine, as the Knicks’ defense was in shambles. But once the Knicks got on a hot streak at the end of the first quarter, the Nets couldn’t figure out how to respond and quickly fell behind by 20-plus in the second quarter. It even led to Jason Kidd and Joe Johnson – the two quietest men on the team – drawing technicals, mostly out of frustration.
Then, when it looked as if the Nets had a chance to get back into the game in the third quarter, they missed a ton of easy looks from close to the rim and beyond the 3-point arc,. After getting to within 14 late in the third quarter, the Knicks ended the third on an 8-1 run to put the game out of reach for good.
Though fans were annoyed at losing to the team’s biggest rival, this turned into one of those games you can simply flip the page on.
3. A sign of how screwed up the Nets were offensively against the Knicks? Deron Williams didn’t have an assist, something that’s now happened twice this season and six times in his career.
Williams said after the game the Knicks got the Nets out of sync by pushing up on them defensively and getting them out of their rhythm.
We’ll see if that translates to the final meeting between these teams. The Knicks come to Brooklyn on the second-to-last day of the season April 15.