The Nets and the Knicks have rarely enjoyed success at the same time, and their rivalry, while strong, has never seemed as fierce as the one between the Rangers and the Devils.
When Vince Carter plays against the Knicks for the first time as a Net today at Madison Square Garden, however, it will not only make for an intriguing matchup, but it could herald a new stage in a rivalry that the Nets have dominated since 2001, when they acquired Jason Kidd.
PHOTO: AFP
"I have an idea of what it's like, but I don't know the significance of the Knicks-Nets rivalry," Carter said after practice Friday.
If the response at Continental Arena to his first home appearance on Thursday night was any indication, Carter is likely to find out how significant in a hurry at the Garden.
A crowd of 20,174 -- the largest to attend a Nets game in Continental Arena history -- saw Carter score 25 points in a 96-83 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Much of the crowd arrived early to marvel at him and Richard Jefferson take turns dunking during pre-game layups.
The Nets (10-18) are 1-2 since they obtained Carter from the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 17. Coach Lawrence Frank admits that his team is still a work in progress two weeks after the acquisition of Carter, a five-time All-Star and the 2000 NBA slam-dunk champion.
"We've never been in a situation with the two wing players we have now," Frank said, referring to Carter and Jefferson.
Frank said that the Nets still needed to emphasize defense to be successful. "We still have to try to get things done within what we do," he said.
"So it's a balance. And it's on the fly, with a guy who's playing 40 minutes a game," Frank said, referring to Carter.
The situation the Nets find themselves in reminds Frank of where the Knicks were last season after Isiah Thomas took over the team's president.
"They put together their team on the run last year," Frank said.
Carter said, "We're all trying to figure each other out," and the key is "just trying to make plays for each other."
The Nets trail the first-place Knicks (16-13) in the Atlantic Division by five and a half games. Before the season, the Nets had won 16 of the last 18 games against the Knicks, including a 4-0 sweep in the first round of last season's playoffs.
But with Kidd limited to 20 minutes a game since his return from off-season knee surgery, the Nets were no match for the Knicks in their first meeting, losing by 87-79 at Continental Arena on Dec. 14.
Three days later, Nets President Rod Thorn swung the blockbuster deal for Carter, outbidding several teams, including the Knicks.
The Knicks seem more solid than they have in recent seasons. Even with Jamal Crawford sidelined with an injured toe, the backcourt of Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston is one of the best in the league, Nazr Mohammed has been a surprise at center, and Kurt Thomas has been a strong presence at power forward.
The Nets' frontcourt, which used to be a strength when it was anchored by the power forward Kenyon Martin, is now the team's Achilles' heel. Indiana's All-Star forward, Jermaine O'Neal, schooled the rookie Nenad Krstic on Thursday, torching him and a succession of subs for 31 points.
Whether the Knicks will have an answer for the Nets' new power trio of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson remains to be seen. Carter admitted he has never had a night at the Garden like the one Michael Jordan had in scoring 55 points against the Knicks in 1995 in his first game back from his first retirement.
"But I've had some pretty good nights there," Carter said. "I enjoy playing there. My first playoff experience was there. I won my first playoff series against the Knicks.
"And with all the history of the Garden, it's considered the Mecca of basketball," he said. "My shot just works there."
That should provide for an entertaining night. As for the long run, Carter said the Nets' success would depend on whether they were able to convince Kidd that he still wants to play in New Jersey.
"Hopefully, we can play well enough to lure Jason back here to want to stay," Carter said. "And if we can show we have that potential here with that core, we're going to attract other guys down the line."
If the Nets are able to do that, then they and the Knicks could finally have a much stronger rivalry for seasons to come.
Paul Pierce scored 26 points and Gary Payton added 18 Friday as the Boston Celtics broke a three-game losing streak with a 108-103 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Boston snapped a 103-all tie when Pierce made one of two free throws with 34 seconds remaining. Jiri Welsch increased the lead to 106-103 with two free throws with 11.5 seconds left.
Washington's Antawn Jamison tried a 3-pointer from the right corner with the 6.7 seconds left but the ball hit the rim.
Ricky Davis, who came off the bench to score 15, made two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to seal Boston's second win in their last six games.
The Wizards were without leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, who missed the game with flulike symptoms.
Larry Hughes tied a season high with 33 points, including 6-of-6 on 3-pointers, to lead Washington. Jamison added 29.
Welsch scored 10 points and Raef LaFrentz 12 for the Celtics.
SuperSonics 103, Bobcats 97
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Rashard Lewis scored 27 points and Seattle made 11 3-pointers.
Vladimir Radmanovic added 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, and Ray Allen had 18 points for the Sonics. Emeka Okafor led the Bobcats with a career-high 27 points and also had 10 rebounds for his 18th straight double-double.
The Bobcats challenged the Sonics, but in the end, Seattle was simply the better team as Charlotte lost its fourth straight.
The Sonics scored 42 points in the paint, and shot 50 percent from 3-point range. Still, Charlotte trailed by five with 30 seconds to play until Gerald Wallace's turnover was converted into Lewis' dunk that wrapped up the Seattle win.
The Sonics led 57-45 at halftime, but the Bobcats pulled back into the game with a furious third quarter. Okafor and Brezec combined for 16 points, and Wallace was all over the court, as usual, scaring the Bobcats with his head-first dive into the bench that had the coaching staff briefly cradling his head to make sure he was OK.
Nuggets 97, 76ers 92
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points in his return from an ankle injury and the Nuggets made Michael Cooper a winner in his NBA coaching debut.
Cooper became the interim coach Tuesday after a six-game losing streak and a 13-15 start cost Jeff Bzdelik his job.
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson scored 29 points, but had just four in the fourth quarter and finished 11-of-28 from the field.
Playing most of the game without three starters, Denver scrambled around on defense and played just well enough on defense to win for just the second time in 10 games.
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson scored 29 points, but had just four in the fourth quarter and finished 11-of-28 from the field.
Marc Jackson added 15 points, and Kyle Korver had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, who had their five-game road winning streak end.
Kings 109, Jazz 102
In Salt Lake City, Chris Webber scored 14 of his 25 points in the third quarter to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Utah Jazz.
Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 26 points, and Mike Bibby and Brad Miller each added 17. Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Webber keyed a 9-0 run early in the third quarter that gave Sacramento a 66-58 lead. After going 2-of-9 from the field the first half, Webber was 7-of-8 in the third quarter, including three dunks.
Webber's jumper gave Sacramento a 76-68 lead with 2:05 left in the quarter, and Mike Bibby closed out the scoring in the period by converting a three-point play with 47 seconds left to make it 81-70.
Stojakovic scored 13 points in the final 6 minutes, including a 3-pointer that banked in with 2:46 left that gave the Kings a 106-94 lead.
Spurs 98, Clippers 79
In Los Angeles, Tim Duncan scored 23 points, and Tony Parker added 21 points and 11 assists to help San Antonio win its fifth straight game.
The Southwest Division-leading Spurs, off to the best start in franchise history, improved to 25-6 with their 17th victory in 20 games despite the early ejection of coach Gregg Popovich. Corey Maggette and Rick Brunson each had 17 points for the Clippers.
The Clippers dropped to 13-14, marking the 25th time in 29 years that the franchise took a losing record into New Year's Day -- not counting the lockout-delayed 1998-99 campaign. It was the third time in four games that the team has scored fewer than 80 points, and the 10th time they failed to reach 90.
The Spurs began the fourth quarter with a 15-6 run that opened up an 85-68 lead with 7:18 to play. Former Clipper Brent Barry, who scored 12 points on his 33rd birthday, capped the rally with two free throws and Los Angeles got no closer than 15.
Rockets 105, Bucks 90
In Houston, Tracy McGrady had 42 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 105-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Maurice Taylor added 16 points to help the Rockets reach .500 (15-15) for the first time since they were 6-6 on Nov. 21. Houston has won nine of its last 13 games.
Rockets center Yao Ming missed a game for the first time in his NBA career, sitting out because of the flu.
Michael Redd led the Bucks with 21 points.
McGrady scored nine points, including a four-point play, to help Houston take a 13-4 lead. He had 17 points in the first quarter to stake Houston to a 27-20 advantage.
In the third quarter, Houston had a 10-0 run, the last eight points by McGrady, to help maintain an 11-point lead.
Deron Williams scored 18 points to lead top-ranked Illinois to a 67-45 victory over No. 22 Cincinnati in the championship game of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic at the Valley Athletic Complex on Friday.
Dee Brown and Roger Powell, Jr. each had 13 points for the Fighting Illini (14-0), who are off to their best start since the 1988-1989 team began 17-0.
Jason Maxiell scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Bearcats (11-1), who lost for the first time this season and failed to atone for a 92-68 defeat to Illinois in last year's NCAA second round.
The Illini led by 11 at halftime and Williams increased the advantage to 38-24 with a three-pointer out of the break. Illinois continued to build its lead and went on top 45-28 on a field goal by Williams with just over 13 minutes left.
A three-pointer by Luther Head with just over four minutes remaining kept the Illini comfortably ahead, 60-39, and Cincinnati never threatened.
No. 13 Washington 81,
California 67
In Seattle, Washington, Tre Simmons scored 18 points to lead 13th-ranked Washington to an 81-67 win over California in the Pac-10 opener for both teams at Bank of America Arena.
Bobby Jones finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies (11-1, 1-0 Pac-10), who have won seven straight overall. Will Conroy contributed 11 points and seven assists.
Richard Midgley posted 18 points for the Golden Bears (7-4, 0-1), who erased a 16-point hole in the first half before having their three-game winning streak snapped. Marquise Kately chipped in with 15 points.
Jamaal Williams also scored 11 points for Washington, which reeled off 10 straight points in the second half to overcome a one-point deficit. Simmons converted a three-point play with 4:56 to play that made it 70-61.
California got within 70-64, but no closer the rest of the way.
Washington mounted a 26-10 burst to snap an early 11-11 tie. A jumper by Joel Smith, with 4:09 remaining in the first half, made it 37-21.
The Golden Bears scored the final seven points of the first, five by Midgley, to get within 41-32 at halftime.
California opened the second half on a 24-12 burst to erase a nine-point halftime deficit. Less than seven minutes into the second half, it forced a 49-49 tie on a three-pointer by Midgley from the top of the key.
Another three-pointer by Midgley, with 11:21 to play from the right wing, put the team ahead 56-53.
No. 16 Iowa 67, St. Louis 58
In Iowa City, Iowa, Pierre Pierce scored 24 points and drained a number of key baskets down the stretch to lead Iowa over St. Louis, 67-58, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Adam Haluska ended with 13 points for the Hawkeyes (12-1), who have won nine straight. Jeff Horner added 12 for Iowa, which needed two late runs to earn the victory.
Izik Ohanon had 15 points for the Billikens (2-10), who have dropped four in a row. Anthony Drejaj tallied 14 points for Saint Louis, which failed to hold on to a second-half lead.
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