NewYork Basketball Roundup

Alex Parker
Editor-in-Cheif

Both of New York’s basketball teams, the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, sit atop the Atlantic Division. The two squads are also the best teams within the Eastern Conference only behind the Miami Heat. The Knicks are coming off a 106-99 win against the Phoenix Suns last Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks are currently 12-4, as they started off the season with six straight wins, the best they’ve done since the ’93-’94 season. Carmelo Anthony leads the team averaging 26.6 points per game, and is followed by Raymond Felton who averages 15.1 points per game. J.R. Smith, Tyson Chandler and Steve Novak are the next highest scorers and have had a big impact early on in the year. Chandler is currently leading the team in rebounds with 8.9 per game. Behind him is Anthony with 6.9 boards per game. Felton leads the team in assists and Jason Kidd leads in steals.

In their latest win against the Suns, Melo put up 34 points to further their home start to 7-0, the best it’s been in 20 years. Felton also had a great game with 23 points and seven assists. Chandler added 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win. Although this was a great victory for the Knickerbockers, power forward Rasheed Wallace was ejected a meager 1:25 into the game after a hard hit to Luis Scola and having words with the referees. The Knicks will suit up against the Charlotte Bobcats in North Carolina
tonight at 7 p.m.

Across the Hudson, the Brooklyn Nets had their five-game winning streak screech to a halt after 102-89 loss to the Miami Heat. Brooklyn kept the Heat at bay for the first two quarters, leading 59-50 at the half. The Heat trailed the whole game but managed to go on a 10-0 run with 4:41 left in the fourth quarter to snag the win.

Center Brook Lopez leads the Nets averaging 18.5 points per game. He is trailed by Joe Johnson with 15.6 and Deron Williams with 15.4. Reggie Evans leads the team off the bench with 8.4 rebounds per game, and Williams leads the squad with 8.9 assists per game. The next game for the Nets is at home on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors at 7:30 p.m.