NEW YORK -- At least the New York Knicks can say they won a city championship.
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.
Only the Brooklyn Nets have a chance to compete for a real one -- though
theyd better play a lot better than this.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 16 points and the Knicks, playing without the
injured Carmelo Anthony, beat the Nets 109-98 on Tuesday night to win
the season series between city rivals.
And in an otherwise massively disappointing season, apparently local
bragging rights do matter.
"Hell yeah," Knicks guard J.R. Smith said. "I mean, Im cool with some of
those guys over there, so I can still say something when were in the
gym this summer. As long as I can say they didnt beat us that many
times, were good."
The Knicks prevented the Nets from clinching the No. 5 seed in the
Eastern Conference playoffs and won their third straight in their
too-little, too-late strong finish. Amare Stoudemire and Smith each
added 14 points.
Anthony had an MRI exam Tuesday that revealed a torn labrum in his right
shoulder. He wont play Wednesday against Toronto, the final game of the
first season in his 11-year career that wont end with a playoff berth
-- and potentially his last as a member of the Knicks. He has said he
will become a free agent in July.
Marcus Thornton scored 24 points for the Nets, who werent sharp despite
playing starters Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and
Joe Johnson. The other starter, Shaun Livingston, remained sidelined
with a sprained right big toe.
The Nets still have a magic number of one for finishing fifth. But they
could fall to No. 6 if they lose Wednesday in Cleveland and Washington
beats Boston.
"Tonight was an example of how not to take a step forward. We were off
our game offensively, defensively, all phases of the game and thats not
how you want to go into the playoffs," Pierce said.
The Knicks would be in the playoffs themselves if they played against
everyone else the way they did against the Nets while winning three
romps.
All four games were on national TV, though none was really worth
watching after halftime. The Knicks won a pair of routs, 113-83 at
Barclays Center in December and 110-81 at Madison Square Garden two
weeks ago. The Nets won by 23 in their lone victory.
The overhyped city series didnt live up to preseason expectations, much
like the Knicks. Players from both sides had sparred in the press during
the summer after the Nets made their big off-season moves, expecting to
battle to be the best in New York and also the Atlantic Division.
Well, the division champion isnt from New York -- or even the U.S.
Toronto finished ahead of both teams.
The Knicks have defeated the Raptors, Bulls and Nets, currently the
Easts Nos. 3-5 seeds, in their last three games, and coach Mike Woodson
said it was "irritating" that his team would be watching the playoffs
from home.
"If we had handled our business early on and didnt let some of the close
games get away, we probably wouldnt be standing here. Wed probably be
preparing for playoff basketball, but thats not the case," Woodson said.
"We put ourselves in this hole and were going to have to live with it
this summer and then try to figure it out next season."
The Knicks led 29-18 after one and the game got fun midway through the
second quarter. Stoudemire had a powerful follow dunk over
Mason Plumlee, screaming into the rookies ear afterward. Plumlee
responded in the best way possible, dunking on the Nets next two
possessions.
Plumlee finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine
rebounds.
But Brooklyn never really got into the game, and the only real interest
in the second half were some occasional dueling chants between the split
crowd. A "Goodbye Melo!" chant from a section of Nets fans was soon
followed by a loud "Lets go Knicks!"
NOTES: The Nets wore their Brooklyn Dodgers-inspired grey uniforms on
Jackie Robinson Day. He debuted for the Dodgers as the first black
player in the major leagues on this date in 1947. ... Pierce became the
sixth player in NBA history to score 1,000 points in 15 straight
seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19), Karl Malone (18), John
Havlicek (16), Elvin Hayes (15) and Robert Parish (15). ...
Mirza Teletovics wife gave birth to twins earlier Tuesday and the Nets
reserve forward also will miss Wednesdays game.
Matt Hall Jersey
. -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday
after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of
their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights.
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A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that
would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season
title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7.NEW YORK, N.Y. -
Todd Bowles is coming home and taking over as the New York Jets head
coach.The Jets hired the Arizona Cardinals defensive co-ordinator
Wednesday to replace Rex Ryan, who was fired, along with general manager
John Idzik, on Dec. 29 after six seasons.Bowles, 51, was highly sought
after leading Arizonas aggressive-style defence the last two seasons.
This will be his first full-time head coaching job at any level after
serving as Miamis interim coach for the final three games in 2011.Its an
honour and privilege to coach the Jets, Bowles said in a statement. I
cant help but be humbled by the chance to coach this team. I am going to
do everything I can to build a consistent winner.It is a homecoming of
sorts for Bowles, who is a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey. He also
served as the Jets defensive backs coach under Al Groh during the 2000
season.Bowles beat out five other candidates, including Seattle
defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn and former Buffalo coach Doug Marrone,
who interviewed with owner Woody Johnson and consultants Charley
Casserly and Ron Wolf, both of whom Bowles has ties to.Bowles had a
second interview Tuesday with Johnson, Casserly and Wolf — along with
newly hired general manager Mike Maccagnan — and impressed the Jets
enough to move forward. New York cancelled a scheduled interview with
Carolina defensive co-ordinator Sean McDermott that was set for
Wednesday. Bowles also called off a second meeting that was scheduled
for Wednesday with the Atlanta Falcons for their head coaching
vacancy.He is a hard-working and dedicated leader who has garnered the
respect of players and coaches, Johnson said. I am confident that Todd
and Mike Maccagnan are the right combination to lead this team.Bowles
becomes the fifth black head coach currently in the NFL, joining
Pittsburghs Mike Tomlin, Cincinnatis Marvin Lewis, Tampa Bays Lovie
Smith and Detroits Jim Caldwell. He also is the Jets sixth straight
defensive-focused head coach and fifth since Johnson took over the Jets
in 2000, joining Ryan, Eric Mangini, Herm Edwards, Groh and Bill
Parcells.With the Jets, Bowles will inherit a solid defensive front
seven with rising star defensive linemen in Muhammad Wilkerson and
Sheldon Richardson. The secondary, however, needs a major overhaul.Along
with Maccagnan, who was hired Tuesday night, Bowles will try to help
the Jets bounce back from four straight seasons out of the playoffs. The
franchise is also starving for a Super Bowl appearance, something it
hasnnt had since 1969.
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When we first met, it was immediately clear how sincere and very real
he is, Maccagnan said. While he appreciates the need for discipline,
players love playing for him and I believe he has outstanding qualities
to help make the Jets a competitive, winning team.Several key decisions
will need to be made in the next several weeks, including assembling a
staff and figuring out the quarterback position.A person with knowledge
of the situation told The Associated Press that former Dallas and
Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey will be Bowles offensive co-ordinator.
Gailey was out of football the last two seasons after being fired as the
Bills coach after the 2012 season.The person spoke on condition of
anonymity because the Jets have not announced Gaileys hiring.Bowles
brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience with him to New York.
He played college football and was a team captain for current Cardinals
coach Bruce Arians at Temple.He was signed by Washington as an
undrafted free agent in 1986, but worked his way to a major role with
Joe Gibbs Redskins — including starting at free safety against Denver in
the 1988 Super Bowl. Bowles played eight NFL seasons, including two
stints with Washington while Casserly was in the Redskins front office,
sandwiched around one season (1991) with San Francisco.Bowles was hired
by Green Bay after his playing career, working in the Packers player
personnel department from 1995-96 — when Wolf was the GM. He then made
several stops as a coach at the college and pro levels, first as the
defensive co-ordinator at Morehouse College and then Grambling State —
both under former Washington teammate Doug Williams — and as an
assistant with the Jets, Cleveland and Dallas, under then-coach
Parcells, whom he considers a mentor.He was hired as the Dolphins
assistant head coach and secondary coach from 2008-11. He went 2-1 as
the teams interim head coach at the end of the 2011 season after Tony
Sparano was fired.Bowles went to Philadelphia in 2012 as the Eagles
secondary coach, but was elevated to defensive co-ordinator when the
team dismissed Juan Castillo. After that season, Bowles was hired as
Arizonas defensive co-ordinator and firmly established himself as one of
the leagues up-and-coming assistants.Were sorry as hell to lose him,
Arians said, but we all knew this day was coming, especially with the
job he did here the last two years.___AP NFL website:
www.pro32.ap.org
and
www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
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