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Nets need OT to take round 1 from Knicks

Nov 27, 2012 - 5:58 AM Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - The first round of the battle of New York turned out to be well worth the wait for the new kids on the block.

Behind double-doubles from Brook Lopez and Deron Williams, the Brooklyn Nets handed the New York Knicks a 96-89 overtime loss at an energized Barclays Center to take the inaugural matchup between the city rivals since the Nets crossed the Hudson River into their new home.

The highly anticipated matchup was delayed more than three weeks by Hurricane Sandy, and the final outcome would be as well after the Knicks rallied back from a five-point deficit late in regulation. However, Brooklyn put forth a pivotal 7-0 run during overtime to gain early bragging rights as well as record its third consecutive victory.

Lopez finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Williams racked up 16 points and 14 assists to help the Nets move to 7-1 at the first-year Barclays Center.

"I'm glad we rewarded our fans with a victory," Nets head coach Avery Johnson said. "Every time some sort of Knicks contingency started to cheer, our fans got louder."

The Knicks suffered their third defeat in four games despite 35 points and 13 rebounds from Brooklyn-born Carmelo Anthony and a career-high 28 points along with 10 boards out of Tyson Chandler.

New York was ultimately done in by poor shooting down the stretch, however, making good on just 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) of its field-goal attempts during the fourth quarter and overtime.

"They controlled the tempo in overtime," Anthony said. "I think in overtime we got fatigued a little bit."

The Nets took an 81-76 lead with four minutes to go in a fourth quarter where both teams had trouble making shots, with Jerry Stackhouse draining a tie- breaking 3-pointer near the left baseline and Lopez following with a fast- break dunk off a Williams steal.

Anthony would bring the Knicks back, however, burying a trey after a Brooklyn turnover and hitting 1-of-2 free throws shortly afterward to make it a one- point game with 2:45 left in regulation. Raymond Felton's jump shot just over 30 seconds later sent New York in front, and Chandler's thunderous dunk off a Felton miss with 1:38 to go put the Knicks ahead by an 84-81 count.

Joe Johnson fed Lopez for an inside basket on Brooklyn's next trip, and Lopez had an opportunity to give the Nets the lead back after being fouled by Ronnie Brewer with 24.1 seconds on the clock. He sank the first free throw for an 84-84 tie, but badly missed the second.

New York netted the first bucket of overtime on another Chandler dunk, but the Nets scored the next eight points to go ahead to stay.

A Lopez layup started the surge and Stackhouse, who delivered 14 points and went 4-of-5 from three-point range off the bench, followed with a successful long-distance shot for an 89-86 edge with 3:31 remaining in extra time.

The cold-shooting Knicks managed only one Anthony free throw over the next 3- plus minutes as Brooklyn extended its advantage to 94-87 with 30 seconds showing.

The two rivals traded baskets throughout most of the first quarter until an 8-1 Brooklyn run capped by a Keith Bogans 3-pointer staked the Nets to a 26-19 lead. The Knicks responded with six straight points, however, with back-to- back Anthony baskets reducing the margin to one just moments into the second period.

The game remained tight over the rest of the opening half, with New York claiming a 47-45 edge when Anthony drove and scored with 29 seconds left, and was knotted at 59-59 late in the third quarter before a 7-0 spurt highlighted by a Rasheed Wallace triple put the Knicks back on top.

Brooklyn responded with a 9-1 flurry to close out the period and own a 68-67 edge entering the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

The game was originally slated to be played on Nov. 1 and serve as the Nets' first regular-season outing at the Barclay Center ... Brooklyn improved to 8-1 when holding the opponent under 100 points this season ... Knicks guard Jason Kidd sat out the contest due to back spasms ... New York committed 14 turnovers to the Nets' 13, marking the first time this season the Knicks have had more giveaways than their foe ... The Knicks, who defeated Detroit on Sunday, are now just 1-3 in the final test of back-to-back games.