NEW YORK — Joe Johnson and the Brooklyn Nets left Madison Square Garden for the last time this regular season, even with the New York Knicks in the series and right behind them in the standings.
Year One of the new rivalry is over — barring a postseason matchup — and Johnson thinks it lived up to expectations.
“You’ve got two teams in New York. They want to be the top dogs. We want to be the top dogs. It’s a battle. We split. We’ll see what happens next,” he said.
Johnson made the go-ahead jumper with 22 seconds remaining and scored 25 points, leading the Nets to an 88-85 victory over the Knicks on Monday at Madison Square Garden and a split of the four games between the city rivals.
Deron Williams added 14 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who cut the Knicks’ Atlantic Division lead to one game. Brook Lopez had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Kris Humphries came off the bench for 11 points and 13 boards.
Brooklyn won the first matchup, and then New York took the next two and opened a huge lead in the standings that the Nets have spent most of the past month wiping away.
Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and seven assists for the Knicks, but missed all six shots in the fourth quarter to finish 11-of-29 for the game. J.R. Smith scored 16 points and Amare Stoudemire 15.
“It’s over. We don’t see them anymore, but it is the beginning of something that’s going to be here for a long, long time,” Anthony said. “These games that we play against Brooklyn are definitely going to be tough, hard battles and as a Knick, we definitely look forward to that challenge …”
There’s still hope for a playoff battle in the spring, with both teams positioned to reach the postseason.
“I think it’s a good rivalry right now … It’s got the potential to be even better. It’s really good for New York basketball,” said P.J. Carlesimo, who is 11-2 as the Nets’ interim coach.
The Nets survived a pair of lengthy droughts in the second half but got 10 points in the final period from Johnson, who used to play for Knicks coach Mike Woodson in Atlanta and has become the player Brooklyn turns to for big shots in the clutch.
Anthony had his 26th straight 20-point game, tied with Stoudemire for third-longest streak in franchise history, but the Knicks were sluggish early in their first game since playing in London.
The Knicks led by three before consecutive 3-pointers by CJ Watson and Johnson gave Brooklyn a 78-75 lead. Smith scored, but then Johnson made another 3 and a jumper to extend the lead to 83-77 with 5:38 remaining before the Nets went cold again.
New York shut Brooklyn out over the next 5 minutes while scoring seven in a row, regaining the lead on Anthony’s free throws with 40 seconds to play. But the Nets got the ball on the next possession to Johnson, who dribbled right toward the baseline and pulled up for the go-ahead basket.
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