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Friday, Mar. 9 7:30pm ET
Nets 'T' off on road-weary Knicks

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – It was a typical New York Knicks' game. Players diving for loose balls, great defense and big shots.

Keith Van Horn
The Nets' Keith Van Horn, center, loses the ball as Knicks Allan Houston, left, and Marcus Camby collapse.
It was a total team effort. The surprise: It was the New Jersey Nets doing it to the Knicks.

Johnny Newman scored 18 points in his first start of the year, and the Nets had three other players record double-doubles in beating the Knicks 96-83 Friday night in a game that included five technical fouls.

"We wanted the game more than them tonight," said Nets point guard Stephon Marbury, who had 12 points, 12 assists and one game-breaking 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

"This is one of our best games as far as defensively," Marbury added after the Nets ended a two-game losing streak. "We wanted to win the game. If we play like that every night, we'll give ourselves the chance to win."

The problem for the Nets is that they haven't done that all year, evidenced by their 22-42 record.

Keith Van Horn added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Kenyon Martin had 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Nets beat the Knicks for the first time in three games this season. Three players with double-doubles was a first for New Jersey this season.

Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy didn't have much to say after the Knicks lost for the eighth time in nine road games.

"We got outcoached, outplayed and outhustled and outworked," Van Gundy said. "That's a bad sign for our team and our organization. Sometimes the less said, the better. So that's all I have to say."

Van Gundy then turned around and walked back into his office.

Allan Houston had 23 points, Marcus Camby added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Latrell Sprewell added 16 points as the Knicks shot 37 percent from the field and were outrebounded 54-41.

"It was frustrating," said Sprewell, who was four of 12 from the field. "The entire team didn't get it done. We talked about what we needed to do but we seemed to keep revisiting the same issues."

If there was a story coming into the game, it was both teams complaining about not getting any calls from the officials. Nets coach Byron Scott sent a videotape to the league office this week after a loss to Philadelphia, while Houston also was annoyed in recent games.

The complaining seemed to draw a response from officials Joe Crawford, Blane Reichelt and Dee Kantner.

The Knicks picked up three technical fouls in the first half. Camby got one for hanging rim and another for arguing with Crawford. He wasn't ejected after the second.

Van Gundy got one for telling Kantner what he thought of one of her calls in the second quarter, and Glen Rice and Stephon Jackson were hit with coincidental technicals for yapping at each other while a foul shot was taken.

The Nets took control early, closing the second quarter with a 23-9 spurt.

Newman, who got the start with shooting guard Lucious Harris sidelined with a calf injury, had seven points in the run. He started it by putting in a rebound, added a baseline jumper in the middle of it and had a late 3-pointer.

"We've let a lot of games slip away from us this year," said Newman, who was 6-for-16 from the field. "We're young and some of it was learning experience. But we have the talent and the tools to do it."

Jackson, who has been in the doghouse for not playing any defense, added six points, including a dunk after he stole a pass from Sprewell.

New Jersey led by 20 points after three quarters. The Knicks managed to get within 86-74 on a layup by Camby with 4:11 to go, but Marbury hit a 3-pointer and fed Van Horn for a layup to put the game out of reach.

New York hit seven of its first 10 shots in opening a 16-9 lead on a 3-pointer by Mark Jackson.

However, the Knicks were only 8-for-33 the rest of the half in falling behind 54-37.

Game notes
Larry Johnson (back) and Travis Knight (strep throat) were out of the Knicks' lineup. ...The Nets were without Jamie Feick (Achilles). ... Nets center Evan Eschmeyer had to leave the court in the first quarter because his broken nose started bleeding. He returned and had eight points and nine rebounds...The sellout crowd of 20,049 was the third of the season and the 19th straight against the Knicks...New Jersey outscored New York 46-28 in the paint.

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Injuries sideline Johnson, Harris for Knicks-Nets game


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