But the plan to save money to be aggressive in free agency leaves neither team with much hope of being competitive now. In need of a turnaround, the Knicks considered signing Allen Iverson this week before ruling it out Friday.

Despite some ugly shooting that included two airballs by Gallinari and a shot by Eddy Curry that nearly went over the backboard, the Knicks led 29-24 after one quarter. The period ended with a livid D'Antoni yelling at Nate Robinson after the Knicks guard shot at the wrong basket after taking an inbounds pass with 0.5 seconds left, instead of just letting the clock run out.

The shot went in just after the buzzer, nearly giving the Nets three points.

"He was like, 'What if it went in?"' Robinson said. "I was like, 'My bad.' I waited to the buzzer went off. He talked to me about it and to be ready to play."

New York extended the advantage into double digits late in the second quarter and led 52-43 at halftime.

Notes

The Knicks will honor Yankees manager Joe Girardi with the November "City Spirit" Award, given to someone who's made a "significant difference in the lives of others" during Sunday's game against Boston. Driving home the night of the World Series clincher, he stopped to aid a motorist who had been injured in an accident.