Nets at Knicks
The New York Knicks have made some alterations to try to improve their struggling defense in advance of Wednesday's matchup with the cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden. A day after a 114-109 home loss to Utah, the Knicks placed assistant coach Kurt Rambis in charge of the team's defense, coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters.
"I just felt that we're probably better off with just one voice, so Kurt, we are going to have him be the voice on the defense," Hornacek said. Opponents are averaging 109.8 points against New York, the fourth-highest mark in the NBA entering Tuesday's action. Brooklyn seems primed to try to take advantage of the Knicks' uncertainty in that area after producing its best offensive output of the season in a 119-110 win over Minnesota on Tuesday. Brook Lopez scored 26 points as the Nets survived without injured point guards Jeremy Lin and Greivis Vasquez.
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ABOUT THE NETS (3-4): Lin (hamstring) will spend at least another week on the shelf while Vazquez (ankle) has missed four straight games. On a positive note, Randy Foye saw his first action of the season after recovering from a hamstring injury and fellow guards Isaiah Whitehead and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have stepped up their respective games. Whitehead overcame an early injury scare on Tuesday to register seven rebounds and seven assists in 26 minutes, while Hollis-Jefferson is 7-of-9 from the field in his last two games after opening the season with a woeful 4-of-23 showing over five contests.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (2-4): Things have been better on the offensive end of the floor, and star forwards Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points apiece while shooting a combined 57.9 percent against Utah. Derrick Rose added 18 points and has scored between 13 and 19 in each of his first six games in a Knicks uniform. Rose has recorded 19 assists in his last two games, a span during which Porzingis has averaged 27.5 points as those two become more accustomed to one another.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets F Trevor Booker is averaging 13.5 points and 11 rebounds over his last two games.
2. Brooklyn SG Bojan Bogdanovic has attempted 24 3-pointers and nine two-pointers in a three-game span.
3. The Knicks own a 92-91 lead in the all-time series.