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Robinson leads the way as Knicks hold off Nets

Oct 21, 2008 - 2:38 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Nate Robinson continued his stellar play this preseason, scoring 26 points as the New York Knicks held off the New Jersey Nets with a 114-106 victory on Monday.

Expected to be a key member of the second unit this season, the 5-9 guard has certainly provided a spark lately. For the third consecutive game, he led the team in scoring as the Knicks (3-2) rolled to their second straight win.

After falling behind by as many as 18, the Nets (2-3) staged a fourth-quarter rally to pull within four. Rookie center Brook Lopez, who provided an active presence around the basket all night, buried lay-ups on back-to-back possessions to cut the Nets' deficit to 105-101 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

But Robinson answered two possessions later, slashing through the lane for a lay-up of his own to extend the lead back to six. After Lopez hit two free throws, Robinson found Mardy Collins for a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 110-103 advantage.

New Jersey missed four of its last five field-goal attempts as New York escaped with the win.

Robinson shot 8-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and grabbed six rebounds. Wilson Chandler, a first-round pick from DePaul last year, started at forward in place of David Lee, who was nursing a sprained right ankle. The 6-8 swingman poured in 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting and collected eight boards.

Devin Harris had 21 points, while Lopez added 19, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Nets, who dropped their third game in a row.

New Jersey was without center Josh Boone, who experienced a rapid heartbeat over the weekend has sidelined him pending further evaluation. According to the Star-Ledger, Boone underwent cardiac tests on Monday that came back inconclusive. He will undergo further examination on Wednesday.