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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) – Stephon Marbury tormented the Knicks instead of
taunting them, and won at Madison Square Garden for the first time
since he was in high school.
|  | | Stephon Marbury's 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds led the Nets to an unlikely victory. |
Marbury bounced back after a poor first quarter to score 22
points and lead the depleted and foul-plagued New Jersey Nets to an
unlikely 95-86 victory over the similarly short-handed New York
Knicks on Friday night.
The Nets had only nine players in uniform, two of whom -- Aaron
Williams and Evan Eschmeyer -- fouled out early in the fourth
quarter and one -- Doug Overton -- who had been with the team less
than 48 hours.
Playing just one night after they lost Kenyon Martin (fractured
leg) for the rest of the season, the Nets somehow summoned the strength to hand the Knicks an embarrassing defeat that ended their five-game overall winning streak and an eight-game home winning streak.
"To win here is always big," Marbury said. "This is the mecca of basketball, and for the team to come in here and play as well as we played is great."
Marbury had lost every game he played at the Garden -- whether
with Georgia Tech, Minnesota or New Jersey -- since 1995, when he was
a high school senior and won the city public schools championship.
Johnny Newman led New Jersey with 26 points, Keith Van Horn had 19 and Stephen Jackson 10.
Latrell Sprewell scored 29 for the Knicks, who got little from
their starting backcourt as Allan Houston (4-for-22) and Mark
Jackson (3-for-11) combined to shoot 21 percent.
The Knicks, who were without Marcus Camby (upper respiratory
infection), Larry Johnson (sore back) and Glen Rice (sore foot), allowed the Nets to score 36 points in the second quarter, failed
to catch up in the third and trailed by double digits for much of
the fourth.
"We have proven time and again that we don't have the maturity
to handle winning," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We
underestimate how hard it is to win in this league."
Marbury, who unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at Knicks guard Charlie Ward after the Nets beat the Knicks on March 9, gave Ward a hug after the final buzzer of this one.
"I just said 'Good game.' That was it," Marbury said.
Marbury finished 9-for-22 from the field with seven assists and six rebounds. Newman was 7-for-15 from the field and 11-for-14 from the line.
The Knicks had an opportunity to bury New Jersey early as the
Nets made their first shot of the game and then missed their next
13. But New York was never able to take a lead of larger than eight
points, and the Nets easily made up the difference in the second
quarter.
Marbury, who missed his first seven shots, made his next seven
during the second quarter as the Nets turned the game around with a
21-3 run to turn a 32-24 deficit into a 45-35 lead. Marbury capped
the run with a fallaway jumper, a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup,
and the Nets held a 53-43 lead at halftime.
Newman scored seven points in the third quarter as the Nets
managed to maintain a healthy lead, but the Knicks scored the first
eight points of the fourth quarter to pull within six, 76-70.
Williams fouled out with 8½ minutes left and Eschmeyer drew his
sixth with 7:08 remaining, but the Nets took an 84-74 lead when Vladimir Stepania hit two foul shots following Kurt Thomas' sixth foul with 6:19 left.
The Knicks didn't score again until Houston hit a jumper with 4:01 left to make it 86-76, and the Nets scored the next four points -- including a drive by Marbury right around Ward -- to lock up the victory.
"I hope the guys are as disappointed as a team as I am,"
Sprewell said. "It's frustrating."
Game notes
Marbury had the phrase "K-Mart 6" written on his sneakers
in honor of Martin. ... Johnson missed his eighth straight game and
Rice missed his third. Othella Harrington made his first start for
the Knicks, replacing Camby, and fouled out after scoring 13
points. Stephen Jackson started for the Nets, who moved Newman to
small forward and Van Horn to power forward to replace Martin. ...
The Nets snapped a six-game road losing streak. ... The Knicks play
their next five games on the road against teams from the West.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
Martin not saying 'here we go again' about broken leg
RECAPS
Indiana 95
Vancouver 75
Toronto 112
Atlanta 86
New Jersey 95
New York 86
Minnesota 101
Denver 90
Chicago 93
Charlotte 90
Milwaukee 115
Orlando 103
Phoenix 84
Philadelphia 71
LA Lakers 104
Washington 91
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