Devils 2, Lightning 1 (OT): With rivals Montreal and Pittsburgh idle, New Jersey saw its win vault it back into first place in the Eastern Conference. Credit goes out to Patrik Elias, who scored the game-winner in overtime and assisted on the earlier strike. The Devils' sitting atop the playoff race isn't a schedule fluke, either. They have a game in hand on the Penguins and the same number as the Canadiens. Pistons 101, Knicks......

Spurs 99, Knicks 93 (OT): Normally, the Knicks do this in reverse. They fall behind big early, rally to make things respectable and pat themselves on the back. This game was worse. They blew an 18-point third-quarter lead and then didn't seem to care about the result when the game went to overtime. This is the second time they've lost eight straight. Will they have another eight-game skid before the season ends?Nets 104, Bobcats 90:......

It's official: Barclays Bank has bought naming rights to the Brooklyn Nets' future arena in the Atlantic Yards project. Naturally, there's a website: Barclays Center - Planned Home of the Nets. Cute how it says "Planned," right? And this map showing how all routes lead to the "Barclays Center" is pretty funny. We noticed a few things on the site. Three Nets players were highlighted: Vince Carter, Nenad Krstic, and jersey-popping Richard Jefferson. There's......

Nets 91, Bulls 86: Things looked bleak for New Jersey until a late fourth-quarter run saved their bacon. Vince Carter and Jason Kidd helped them at the end, but if not for Bostjan Nachbar and Richard Jefferson, the Nets wouldn't have been within striking distance. Nachbar's in for some more time now that Nenad Krstic is gone for the season. He started Friday because Jason Collins had a strained back, and he tossed in 16......

Knicks 151, Pistons 145 (3 OT): For the second time this season, the Knicks played a triple-overtime game, and for the second time this season, they won. (Remember when they almost blew that opening-night game against Memphis?) Channing Frye hit a buzzer-beating shot to force the third extra session, and the biggest of Jamal Crawford's 29 points helped lift the Knicks. With the suspensions from the Denver brawl forcing Coach Isiah Thomas to use a......

Knicks 103, Bulls 92: So much for the Knicks' home-court woes. They beat Utah on Monday, squeaked by lowly Charlotte on Wednesday and tripped up streaking Chicago on Friday. A pair of ex-Bulls pitched in. Jamal Crawford netted 28, and Eddy Curry scored 20. Suddenly, New York's won three in a row. Last Saturday's brawl probably isn't as much to credit as people might think, but if that's the reason for their streak, the success......

-Knicks 115, Bucks 107: Eddy Curry had 36 points -- his ninth straight over-20 performance -- and the Knicks gave the fans at Madison Square Garden plenty to cheer about. Curry dominated against Andrew Bogut and then Dan Gadzuric after Bogut faced early foul trouble. Nate Robinson chipped in 22, but, despite the win, the Knicks are only 3-8 at home this season. Curry's play, maligned here and everywhere it seems, has proven a pleasant......

After bowing out in five games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals iast season, the Nets didn't feel the need to retool their starting lineup. Who wouldn't be happy with Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic on the floor for the tipoff? Instead, they knew their reserves could be better, and that's the weakness they concentrated on in the offseason. Head coach Lawrence Frank should have a better team......

Just as the Nets improved with the play of Vince Carter, so did the Pacers when Jermaine O'Neal woke up. With Indiana's big man not in foul trouble and a force inside, the Nets lost game three 107-95 Thursday and trail the four-of-seven series two games to one. O'Neal proved too tough to handle on offense (he scored 37 points) and on defense (he held Nenad Krstic to just nine points). Without foul trouble to......

If someone told Nets coach Lawrence Frank he could have the Indiana Pacers' best player in foul trouble all afternoon and force the Pacers to rely on a reserve point guard, he probably would have signed on the dotted line. Yet Jermaine O'Neal scored when it counted and Anthony Johnson, a former Net, hit two free throws in the final second of a 90-88 win over New Jersey. The Pacers lead the four-of-seven series 1-0.......

In case any doubt lingered about the Nets' lackluster effort during the season's last few games, New Jersey removed any doubt with a 90-83 loss to the Knicks at home. Of course, Lawrence Frank rested his stars to the point that the quartet of Vince Carter, Nenad Krstic, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson totaled just 18 minutes. All belonged to Jefferson. Jacque Vaughn led the team with 15 points, and the not-even-trying Nets almost came......

As the playoffs near, the Nets have less and less to play for. Barring a drastic turnaround in the standings, they will end up as the three seed. Still, Gothamist likes their perforances in recent nights, including Tuesday's 112-100 win at Washington. Those stumbles of late February and early March now look more like a momentary disruption than a bad sign for the playoffs. Why have the Nets improved? Their less glamorous players and their......

Although they are in no position to quibble, the Nets won't be putting Wednesday's 78-65 victory over visiting Portland in a time capsule. They shot 39 percent from the floor, saw Jason Kidd be held scoreless in regular season game for the first time as a Net and relied heavily on their defense to win the game. Still, they've won three straight and have shown some signs that their struggles may be in the rear......

Here’s the good news; there are only 28 games left in the Knicks’ season. New York was simply outclassed by the Nets last night, losing 94-90, but it wasn’t that close. Steve Francis, who had 16 points in his debut, hit a three at the buzzer capping of a rally by the Knicks that made the game appear a lot closer than it was. In fact, the Nets jumped out to a 20-4 lead and......

So, on the cover of yesterday's NY Times sports section was this huge picture of New Jersey Nets small forward Richard Jefferson (RJ!) hugging point guard Zoran Planinic after a third quarter shot against the Utah Jazz, and we thought to ourselves, "This is some hug...not that there's anything wrong with that." But these are exciting times for Nets, as exciting as being on top of the Atlantic Division five games into the season can......

Certainly not the Miami Heat, but maybe Kobe Bryant (snicker, snicker)? Despite the fact that Shaquille O'neil was limited to 26 minutes and 14 points because of foul trouble, the Heat had no trouble defeating the New Jersey Nets, 104-87. Filling in for Shaq was former Net Alonzo Mourning, who scored 21 points in only 16 minutes of play. The Nets now trail the Heat 2-0 in the best of 7 series. Looks like it's......

After a season filled with injuries, trades, and change, the Nets have somehow climbed right back into the Eastern playoff race this week. Two Philadelphia losses and two Net wins leave them a mere 1.5 games out of the NBA playoffs heading into April. On Wednesday, Carter and company breezed to a 95-78 win over the hapless L.A. Clippers, who never led in the contest. VC scored 31 and youngster Nenad Krstic added 17 in......