NEW YORK _ On a night when the Nets honored the memory of Brooklyn rapper Biggie Smalls, the Nets came up big and the Knicks came up very small on Sunday night.
While the talk continues to be about the triangle offense, and Phil Jackson teaching the guards some options within his beloved system, the Knicks should consider bringing in someone to run a defensive clinic.
So much for the triangle helping to balance your defense. The Knicks trailed by 22 points in the first half and were beaten, 120-112, at Barclays Center.
The Knicks (26-41) did improve their chances of getting a higher draft pick. They now own the seventh-worst record in the league.
In front of a star-studded crowd that included Jackson at a rare road game, Charles Oakley, actor and rapper Ice Cube and Sean "Puffy" Combs _ a close friend of Biggie Smalls, who was shot and killed 20 years ago _ the Knicks were embarrassed early.
They allowed 67 points in the first half. The Nets (12-53) also hit a franchise-record 14 3-pointers in the opening half (they finished 19-for-38). The Knicks made a run in the second half, but, as usual, couldn't get enough stops.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 27 points, but he made only 10 of 26 shots. Anthony surpassed the 10,000-point mark as a Knick, and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elvin Hayes as the only players to score 10,000 for two franchises (Knicks and Denver). Anthony ranks seventh on the Knicks' all-time scoring list.
Kristaps Porzingis finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks before fouling out with 3:55 left. Derrick Rose added 17 points and Courtney Lee 15.
Brook Lopez made his first six 3-pointers and led the Nets with 25 points. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. The former Knick was 0-for-9 heading to the fourth
The Knicks were down by 16 early in the fourth. They rode Anthony in the fourth, as he scored 12 consecutive Knicks points during one stretch. The closest they got was 106-101 with 5:09 left.
Lin converted a 3 on the next trip _ his first field goal of the game _ and scored seven during a 10-4 run that gave the Nets a 116-105 lead. In that surge, Lin drew the sixth foul on Porzingis.
The majority of Anthony's points as a Knick have come in isolation and pick-and-roll, and not the triangle. But that's the offensive system the Knicks will run for the remainder of the season as they search for players who play it willingly and effectively.
"We really want to see the guys when they run it, how they run it," coach Jeff Hornacek said. "If they're capable of running it, if it fits them, how they do it. It takes time to make these reads. If we can get some of it going now it will help us for the future. We're still trying to win games through that."
Hornacek said before the game that even though the Knicks are looking for more balance through the triangle offense, they need Anthony to take more than nine shots, as he did in Saturday's loss at Detroit. Anthony attempted nine shots in the first quarter on Sunday night and had 11 by the half.
The Knicks allowed Lopez to hit 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter. The Nets were 8-for-9 from deep, scored 39 points overall and led by as many as 15 in the first.
Lopez didn't attempt a 3-pointer in the second, but the Nets knocked down six more and extended the lead to 20.
After the Knicks fell behind 76-54 just under three minutes into the third they made a run that was sparked by their defense. They picked up their intensity and caused five turnovers that led to 11 points.
Anthony and Lee each had eight points in the third to help the Knicks cut it to 87-80 with 57 seconds left in the quarter. But the Nets scored the next nine points spanning the third and fourth quarters and went ahead 96-80.
