The New York Knicks will visit the Brooklyn Nets tonight in the next to last game of the regular season. The NBA game will be FREE live streaming online from the Barclay's Center at 8:00 PM ET.
The Nets final games of the regular season aren't against playoff-caliber teams, but coach Jason Kidd is still trying to make them count toward getting his team properly prepared for the postseason.
The Nets' other remaining objective is to nail down the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, which they can secure Tuesday night with a home win over a Knicks team likely missing Carmelo Anthony.
The Nets and Knicks have yet to play a close game in this season series. Brooklyn lost by 30 at home in December and 29 at Madison Square Garden earlier this month, while it beat New York 103-80 on the road in January.
Anthony had double-doubles in all of those games but "probably won't" play in this matchup, according to coach Mike Woodson. The superstar forward has been battling a sore right shoulder, which he was to have further evaluated Tuesday.
Woodson also would prefer to sit Anthony for the season finale Wednesday against Toronto unless he asks to play.
"I'm going to tell him I'm not going to play him. That's what I'm going to do," Woodson told the team's website.
That means it's possible Anthony has played his final game in a Knicks uniform because he plans to test free agency in the offseason. Sunday's 100-89 home win over Chicago was new territory for Anthony, who is playing out a regular season having been eliminated from postseason contention for the first time in his career.
New York is coming off wins over Toronto and the Bulls -- one of which will likely be Brooklyn's first-round opponent -- and is now after its 15th win in 20 games. The Knicks had previously compiled a 21-40 record.
"Being the coach, I just apologize to the fans, because again, they pay their hard-earned money to come out and see us play and we didn't come into this season expecting this," Woodson said.
His Knicks, though, have won eight of 11 on the road. They're 3-2 thus far on a season-ending stretch of seven straight games against playoff teams from the East.
The game will be live streamed online at www.nbalivestreamfree.net
