You will read -- maybe you've already read in a few places -- about the awful first half the Knicks played last night against the New Jersey Nets. A 36 point first quarter that was the Nets' season high, followed by a 32 point second quarter. On the second night of a back to back for the Nets, in late March no less.

It was only the fourth time this season the Nets had even had back to back 30+ point quarters. While the Knicks' lack of defensive energy couldn't be excused, the Nets' fast start could be at least be explained (if not excused) by the special motivation they carried into this game to beat the Knicks, and the return of Deron Williams after missing six games. Williams didn't score much to start, but he did plenty to get his teammates good looks (5 assists in the first period) and keep the Knicks off balance. And Brook Lopez came out even more fired up, with a 16 point, 4 rebound, 2 assist first quarter of his own.

The Knicks were very efficient on offense as well in the first quarter, with Amare scoring 12 on 6-7 shooting, Carmelo with 11, and both Melo and Billups combining for 7 assists. But Knick worriers will keep looking over their shoulders when second quarters like the one at Charlotte Saturday and the one last night against the Nets keep happening. The Knick reserves were a special brand of awful against the bench players of another sub-.500 team, and it didn't get much better when the Knick starters returned. Toney Douglas (-14 in nine first half minutes) and Bill Walker (-13 in less than 7 minutes, including 2 missed FTs and one blown layup) could produce nothing, and the Knicks were outrebounded 16-6 in the second quarter alone.

The Knicks were so badly outrebounded that Kris Humphries and Johan Petro had more offensive rebounds between them (8) in the second quarter than the Knicks' entire rebounding total in the 2nd. As good as Amare's 19 point first half was (the most fluid he's looked shooting in several games), he should have had Petro's six points subtracted from that scoring total, for failing to box him out or even knowing where he was -- it was an embarrassing display on national television, and Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico painstakingly pointed it out with several replays.

Somehow, the Knicks managed to survive falling behind by as many as 16 points, and thanks to a late scoring charge by Billups got the lead down to ten at the half. In the second half, D'Antoni chose to start Jared Jeffries instead of Shelden Williams, and the team tightened up its defensive pressure on the perimeter. Even though Jeffries had been pushed around a lot by Lopez in the first, the decision to play him for the entire third quarter was excellent -- he set good screens on offense, moved the ball quickly whenever it came his way, mostly kept Lopez in front of him on the wing rather than down in the block, was the best help and recover defender on the floor on either team, and was a hive of activity overall (4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, +8) in just under 15 second half minutes.

Led by Jeffries, the Knicks forced eight of NJ's sixteen turnovers in the third quarter alone. The Knicks and Nets traded runs in a weird third quarter -- nine straight points by the Knicks to get the lead down to one at 71-70, then nine straight points for the Nets after Amare's fourth foul got the Nets lead back to 10, then the Knicks ended the quarter outscoring the Nets 17-6 (with Deron and Lopez having to leave with four fouls as well). Carmelo had another protean scoring third quarter with 20 points on a variety of jumpers, post moves, and straight blow bys.

The importance of the game and its odd rhythms (as well as Amare's foul trouble) led D'Antoni to break some of his typical substitution patterns -- he kept Billups in the game for the entire third quarter and the first few minutes of the fourth, to take advantage of D-Will's absence. He also brought Douglas back in late in the third to harass Farmar, and TD redeemed himself after his rough first half. Additionally, Anthony Carter was brought in for a crucial spell in the fourth quarter along with Shelden, and the two ex-Nuggets combined for three straight scores to get the Knick lead up to five at 105-100. Carter topped off his excellent stint with a sparkling diagonal cross court bounce pass in transition that caught Shawne Williams in motion for a catch and shoot jumper to make it 107-102 -- Hubie Brown loved this sequence so much that he demanded that the ESPN production crew produce a replay ("I just wish we had the one where he threw the 25 to 30 foot bounce pass right on the money!"), and they happily obliged.

It looked like it still might not be enough as Deron started to take over with two three point plays and a jumper to get the Nets back up by 3 as the Knick offense temporarily bogged down, briefly signaling the return of those fourth quarter blues. But Billups, showing that he's getting closer to his pre-injury form, used his savvy to draw a three point shooting foul coming off an Amare screen, tying the game with three FTs at 114. After a missed D-Will jumper, Carmelo went to the left baseline for a trademark mid-range jumper that gave the Knicks the lead for good at 116-114. The Knicks were able to get stops on two of the Nets' final three possessions (with Deron missing a very good look on his final jumper, probably due to rust) to hold on for their second straight win.

Game Notes:

*  Landry Fields' playing time has been diminishing in recent games with the need to play Douglas and Carter more minutes in order to improve the defense on the perimeter, and though he's been unflappable all season whether he plays ten minutes or thirty, last night was pretty rough. With the Knick in an early groove in the first quarter, Fields was ball watching on defense and gave up a Morrow three that sparked a big Net run, then in the second half he gave up a Morrow offensive rebound and lost him on another possession. Landry still delivers one or two sharp cuts leading to assisted baskets, but his outside shot has suffered as Billups and Anthony haven't been able to find him for open corner threes the way Felton and company did before the trade.

*  Billups had his second straight turnover-less game (the team has a whole had only 5 turnovers) and as mentioned earlier, looks to be rounding back to peak form -- he seemed especially up for the challenge of taking on Deron, with all the hype of the rivalry. 33 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 10 for 10 FTs feels more like a Mr. Big Shot line. Those PUTITs (Pull Up Threes In Transition) still produce that "No-No-No" feeling every so often, but they've always been part of his game, and as long as he's mixing it up with drives to the basket and getting to the FT line, the Knicks can feel much better about their chances with any opponent.

*  Amare Stoudemire had a terrifically effficient line, but one rebound is one rebound, and even on his drives, he still appears to be playing below the rim -- he's fortunate that the Nets didn't have any real interior defenders. The upcoming three days off will be extremely welcome, and I'm very curious to see how he bounces back against the hyperactive swingmen of the Cavs on Sunday.

*  Carmelo Anthony drew Brook Lopez's fourth foul in the third quarter in the midst of his scoring run, one game after drawing Dwight Howard's fourth foul in the third. The two man game Billups and Anthony had going in the third and fourth quarter was a weapon the Nets had difficulty defending, and Billups managed to draw D-Will's fourth and fifth fouls through his activity with Carmelo as well. Not only did the absence of the two Net stars with foul trouble help the Knicks take control, but late in the game, Farmar was forced to be on Billups after Deron's fifth -- Billups was able to use his craftiness to fool Farmar in running into him off the screen for the critical foul on the three point shot that helped tie the game.

*  Brook Lopez looked outstanding in the first half, but the Knicks have had success doubling him and throwing him off his rhythm in several games now, and the second half last night was more of the same -- he just freezes when the pressure increases, rather than finding teammates in good positions. And that play where he missed the layup with the Nets down 116-114, then went down to recover his shoe while the rebound was still being contested, was jaw-dropping (see above picture) -- I had to watch the replay a few times to make sure what I was seeing was real. I'm guessing Avery and Deron are not going to be too kind to Brook in film sessions tomorrow regarding how he handled that sequence. (Compare that to how Kevin Durant handled the loss of a shoe).

*  I've complained about the Knick lapses a lot in this recap, and the depth and scoring balance are serious concerns when reserves like TD and Shawne haven't got their shot going. But I really liked how methodically the Knick stars got their offense through solid execution and positioning for most of the first, third and fourth quarter, rather than taking too many hero shots -- particularly in the sequence that got the lead down to one in the third, the team kept running variations on the "Power" set where Billups passes to Amare coming from the corner to the top of the key, then sets a screen for Carmelo to receive the pass from Amare on a cut -- if that doesn't work,  either Billups will get the ball back for a jumper behind Amare, Amare takes the jumper himself, or Melo comes back to the left block for a post-up.

If these guys are going to account for the vast majority of points as they did last night (95 of 120 points), let them do it in a way that makes the defense work and keeps them guessing, rather than an unending series of isolations. I'm anxious to see what new wrinkles D'Antoni introduces after three days off and some real practices.

*  Deron Williams is a fantastic player, and I'm not looking forward to seeing him against the Knicks when he's fully healthy (which may not be the rest of the season). Even at half to three quarters speed, the way he uses screens (and fakes using them) is an art form with his skills with the dribble. When the Nets made their run to get the lead back to ten in the 3rd quarter, D-Will got the offense going again by running Billups through simple elbow screens over and over -- if he couldn't lose him the first time, he simply drew a simple curve back around the original screen or found another one. In the fourth quarter, he chose to take over with ten straight points and drove Anthony Carter out of the game.


It will be the Cavaliers on Sunday, and they've been playing very well lately -- plus we know how good the Knicks have made them look in every matchup this season. Despite that, I'm actually looking forward to the game to see if the team can back up its words about respecting every opponent and playing with an renewed sense of purpose, after losing their way for so much of the last month.