Knicks at Nets
The New York Knicks are struggling, and Carmelo Anthony’s shooting woes are a big part of the problem. Anthony will try to snap out of his funk and help the Knicks avoid a three-game slide when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. The Nets got off to a hot start offensively but suffered through a letdown at home on Wednesday, going cold just at the wrong time while being outscored 9-0 in the final minutes of a 98-91 setback.
Anthony did not make a field goal until the third quarter of Wednesday’s 98-95 loss at Detroit and is 13-of-44 from the field in the last two games. “We can’t move forward until we get the basics down,” Anthony told reporters of the team’s struggles in new coach Derek Fisher’s triangle offense. “Some nights we seem like we have it down and some nights we don’t, but it’s going to be a little bit inconsistent from that standpoint until we actually get the foundation of the system down.” Brooklyn is adjusting to a new coach as well in veteran Lionel Hollins.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (2-3): Anthony was over 50 percent from the field in each of New York’s two wins but has been held under 20 points in each of the last two games. “If they’re good shots and makeable shots, which I think a lot of them were; Carmelo’s a shot maker,” Fisher told reporters. “He missed some shots that were good shots. That happens.” The bright spot in the loss to the Pistons on Wednesday came from center Jason Smith, who scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in his first start.
ABOUT THE NETS (2-2): Brook Lopez missed all but 17 games last season and sat out the first two of the 2014-15 campaign before stepping up with 18 points in 24 minutes in a victory over Oklahoma City on Monday. Lopez’s second game was not quite as sharp, and he was regularly beaten by Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic while struggling to 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting on Wednesday. “I didn’t take care of my responsibilities on defense down the line,” Lopez told reporters after the loss. “I’m very disappointed in myself tonight. We had an opportunity and I killed it. It’s on me.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks G J.R. Smith will return from a one-game suspension served for elbowing Washington’s Glen Rice Jr. in the groin.
2. Brooklyn F Mirza Teletovic is 11-of-24 from 3-point range.
3. New York G Pablo Prigioni (ankle) left Wednesday’s game and is day-to-day.