SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
The soaring hot New York Knicks and fading Brooklyn Nets hit the road for National Basketball Association games tonight, but they are going in opposite directions.
While the Nets, who last won a championship back with thej red, white and blue ABA ball back in the late 70s, decided to trade their superstar Kevin Durant and twist a once feared roster around, the Knicks have zoomed past them in the Atlantic standings.
Presently the Madison Square Garden tenants are an impressive 37-27, two games up on the 34-28 Nets, four games behind the Philadelphia 76ers, and 8 1/2 in back of the frontrunning Boston Celtics whom they trounced last week.
New have won seven straight, trail the second place Central Cleveland Cavalier by 2 and 1/2 games, and are 3 and 1/2 better than the Southeast first place Miami Heat. The Central leading Milwaukee Bucks of the have meanwhile rattled off 16 wins in a row and are the top team in the Eastern Conference.
With a well-balanced lineup now filled with star-studded guards and enough height and depth, the Knicks are 19-15 at home, 18-12 away, and 26-26 in the conference. How bad have the Nets become, well they have lost four straight, eight of their last 10, and are 24-17 in the conference.
Sunday, while the borough of Manhattan residents play at Boston, the borough of Brooklyn team gets a break with a home game versus last the last place Charlotte Hornets (20-14) of the Eastern’s Southwest Division.
Quite a turnover for an NBA that began the season with high hopes for the draught-minded nomad Nets with Durant expected back from the injury list after two months, but that has evaporated. Now the highlight films belong to the Knicks who have pieced together one of those every game heroes.
