The Knicks were the first team eliminated from the playoffs, and now they get to face a horde of questions which are hovering over the franchise: will the team keep Coach Mike D'Antoni and president Donnie Walsh? Who can they get to fill out their roster? Will they ever learn to play defense? Can Walt Clyde Frazier wear his cow suit after Memorial Day?? At least one question mark was resolved today: the team announced hat they will keep point guard Chauncey Billups next year. more ›

Defensively, it was another bad night for the club as the Islanders launched 38 shots and controlled play at both ends of the ice. Darius Kasparitis had only 10 minutes of ice time and looked lost. On the plus side, Thomas Pock looked good, but the Rangers need to figure out how to fix things quickly. more ›

Beating the Mavericks at home is one thing. So is beating the Pistons at home. But to beat Detroit on the road, like the Nets did Sunday 79-74, proves something more. It proves not only that they can prove dangerous in the upcoming playoffs, but that they're peaking at the right time. New Jersey has won eight straight and has split the season series with Detriot 2-2. Sunday's win came with stingy defense and a slow-it-down approach. more ›

Inconsistency has plagued the Nets all season, and they suffered from it again in a 93-83 loss to Detroit at the Meadowlands, dropping them a game under .500. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak and might show the Nets where they stand among the East's elite teams. No shame should be felt in losing to Detroit, but the Pistons, even without Larry Brown, remain a team to beat in a conference full of contenders. more ›

Holy cow. Last night's NBA Finals contest was about as tight and as exciting as a sporting event can be. The game was tied at halftime, tied at the end of regulation, and won at the end by one point on a 3-pointer. It was jaw-droppingly intense. And somehow, San Antonio scraped out a 96-95 OT win to go home with a 3-2 lead. more ›

Find out what it means to Tha D. more ›

Last night, the Nets lost the 7th and deciding game to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Why did we all know this would happen? Maybe because the Nets were blown out in their first two games and had to return to the scene of the crime? Or was it the fact that Jason Kidd was held scoreless in the playoffs for the first time in his career because of his back and knee ailments? Or was it just that the Pistons were the better team? Whatever it was, the Nets lost the game 90-69 (box score) and will not return to the NBA Finals this year. Chauncey Billups scored a game-high 22 points, with his teammates Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace adding 21 and 18 points respectively. The Pistons now move on to play the Indiana Pacers to see who goes to the NBA Finals. more ›

The Detroit Free-Press' Mitch Albom marvels at Veal, calling him a "big, chunky redheaded bench player"; the Times notes that Scalabrine, though unlikely hero, isn't the best defensive player. Plus, the Star-Ledger on Scalabrine's hot hand. And the Gothamist-Whatevs bet on this series. Game 6 is tomorrow night in East Rutherford. more ›

With improvements on both the Nets and Pistons, both teams know that this series will be different than last year. The Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace at the trade deadline this season and went 20-6 after he joined the team. In their one game since the Wallace trade, the Pistons beat the Nets, 89-71. That game ended the Pistons' record-setting streak of holding opponents under 70 points at 5 games, which the Pistons were not happy about. The Nets were fouling in the final moments of the game to get the ball back and scored a basket with 1.1 seconds left to give them 71 for the game. more ›