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Anthony has 28, Knicks rout Nets 108-91 to get back to .500

Dec 5, 2015 - 3:46 AM NEW YORK (AP) Kristaps Porzingis hit one 3-pointer and then another, with hardly a Brooklyn player in sight.

''He's 7-, 8-feet tall, so I don't how they missed him,'' Carmelo Anthony said.

They missed just about everybody in Knicks uniforms until it was far too late.

Anthony scored 28 points, the 7-foot-3 Porzingis had 19 and New York beat Brooklyn 108-91 on Friday night to get back to .500.

''Well, that was a nightmare,'' Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. ''I guess everyone can quit talking about rivalries. We didn't come ready to compete early and they jumped on us.''

Arron Afflalo added 18 points for the Knicks (10-10), who dominated lowly Philadelphia and Brooklyn in their last two games after a four-game losing streak. They reclaimed city bragging rights with ease, leading by as much as 31 points.

Players on both sides still debate whether the teams have a rivalry after the Nets moved from New Jersey to New York in 2012.

It sure looked like this one really mattered to the Knicks.

''We wanted to come in and we wanted to win this game,'' Anthony said. ''This will always be kind of a special game when we play Brooklyn.''

Brook Lopez scored 21 points, and Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets. They had won two in a row and have a lot to fix before they host the unbeaten Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

Lopez beat twin brother Robin to take the opening tip, and it was soon clear that was all the Nets would be winning. The Knicks blitzed them with seven 3-pointers and a season-best 42 points in the first quarter, led 65-42 at halftime and opened their first lead of 30 or more since the 2013-14 season in the third period.

''We stunk it up in that first quarter and it just carried over throughout the rest of the game,'' Nets forward Joe Johnson said.

The Nets had allowed 91 points or fewer in three straight games, but the Knicks already surpassed that with a 92-67 cushion heading to the fourth quarter. Brooklyn fell to 1-11 on the road.

''I thought the guys were very intent on playing together and really sharing the basketball and sending the message that they're capable of doing that,'' Knicks coach Derek Fisher said.

The Nets swept the series last season for the first since winning all four games in 2006-07. They lost Johnson in the fourth quarter when was called for a flagrant foul and ejected for elbowing Jose Calderon in the face.

Porzingis finished with 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double. He was the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for October/November, the first Knicks player to win that award since Landry Fields in December 2010.

Jose Calderon had 10 assists, his most since coming to the Knicks in a June 2014 trade.

TIP-INS

Nets: Shane Larkin, who spent last season with the Knicks, finished with six points in his return to Madison Square Garden. Andrea Bargnani, who spent two injury-disrupted seasons with the Knicks before signing with Brooklyn in the offseason, sat out with left hamstring injury. ... Rookie center Willie Reed made his NBA debut, finishing with eight points in 11 minutes.

Knicks: The Knicks' last 30-point lead before Friday was a 33-point bulge, also against Brooklyn, in a 110-81 victory on April 2, 2014. ... The 42 points New York scored in the first quarter were 10 more than its previous best in the period in a loss at Cleveland on Nov. 4. The Knicks' best showing in any quarter had been 36 points on a couple of occasions.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL?

A Nets victory would have evened the all-time series between the franchises. Instead, the Knicks extended their edge to 91-89.

BROOKLYN BORN, BELONGS TO BOTH

Hall of Famer Bernard King, who was born in Brooklyn and played for both franchises, turned 59 on Friday. He holds the record for most points against the Nets, with 60 for the Knicks in a Christmas Day loss in 1984.

UP NEXT

Nets: Host Golden State on Sunday.

Knicks: Visit Milwaukee on Saturday.