It was meant to be a game that kicked off a new era in New York basketball, but the damage left to Brooklyn and much of New York after Hurricane Sandy thwarted the first ever New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets game on Halloween night in Brooklyn.
However, there's no stopping the two New York teams from locking up tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, when Carmelo Anthony and the 9-3 Knicks take on Deron Williams and the 8-4 Nets.
The Knicks have been on a roll since the start of the season, beating opponents through air-tight defense and a constantly moving offense that has fans and analysts whispering about a possible title run for New York this season. Anthony, third in the league with 25.6 points per game, has been playing basketball on a arguably the best stretch of his career thus far.
But the Nets, sporting a 6-1 home record, are no pushovers, the play of Brook Lopez (19.0 points a night) and Williams (16.8 points, fifth in the league with 8.5 assists per game) powering the Nets to their best home start since 2002-03, when the Nets went to the NBA Finals. That streak extended Sunday when the Nets beat Portland 98-85 at home.
Meanwhile the Knicks are coming off a 121-100 victory over Detroit on Sunday, the Knicks' highest scoring performance so far this season, that snapped a two-game losing streak.
Both Atlantic Division rivals are looking fired up heading into tonight's game.
"There's going to be more energy," forward Kris Humphries told NBA.com. "Each play is going to be bigger. So I think it's tough because of the atmosphere but we have to come out and execute, not get caught up in the Nets-Knicks thing."
Anthony, a native of Brooklyn, has an appreciation for what the game means for a city rich in basketball culture.
"If we don't get up for this game, then I don't know what games we'll get up for," Anthony said. "It's an inner-city game, New York vs. Brooklyn. To me, going back home, going back to my borough, playing my first game back there is a very special moment for myself."
"We just kind of had a lapse those two games, I would like to think, and (Sunday) was a lot better," coach Mike Woodson said.
Game time starts at 7 p.m. EST on TNT.
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