Yesterday's charity mini-soccer game, "Showdown in Chinatown," organized by NBA superstar Steve Nash turned out to be the hot (free) ticket. People were crowded almost a dozen people deep, standing on cars, and clinging to fences and poles to catch glimpses of NBA players like Jason Kidd, Leandro Barbosa, and Baron Davis and soccer players Claudio Reyna, Salomon Kalou, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Rob Jones, Jozy Altidore and Gregg Berhalter playing in Sara Roosevelt Park......

The Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash is organizing a mini-soccer match for charity today at 5 p.m. Billed the "Showdown in Chinatown" (the game is at Sara D. Roosevelt Park, at Chrystie and Stanton Streets), other professional athletes expected to attend are soccer players Thierry Henry and Claudio Reyna and the NBA's Jason Kidd, Baron Davis and David Lee, Leandro Barbosa and Raja Belland. And could Nash's former coach and current Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni stop......

Knicks 103, Heat 96 (OT): Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 24 points as they defeated a Miami Heat team stocked with talent like Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal Chris Quinn, Mark Blount and Earl Barron. That the Knicks needed overtime to beat the NBA's worst team at home should be a big embarrassment. Such a dramatic win saved the Knicks their longest home losing streak ever -- it would have been eight -- and......

Portland 120 Knicks 114 (OT): The Knicks went into this game shorthanded, no Zach Randolph, no Eddy Curry, no Jamal Crawford. But, even without three starters they almost pulled out the win thanks to Nate Robinson’s 45-point game. Robinson played an amazing 52 minutes in the game and the Knicks used only eight players, even with the extra period. Mavericks 111 Nets 91: Jason Kidd got his first crack at his old team and he......

Rangers 5, Flyers 4 (SO): Maybe in the future coach Tom Renney will start backup goaltender Steve Valiquette against the Flyers. He came in relief of Henrik Lundqvist and stopped 17 of 18 shots, then put forth a perfect performance in the shootout. The reserve, who now has three wins against the Flyers this season, stabilized a game that saw both Lundqvist and Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki yanked by the time two minutes were gone......

Photograph of Rangers Brandon Dubinsky and Jaromir Jagr celebrating Dubinsky's first period goal, with Hurricane Bret Hedican looking on, by Karl B DeBlake/AP Rangers 4 Carolina 2: It was the perfect blend of the old and the new for New York on Thursday. Brandon Dubinsky got things started for the Rangers with a great backhand off of the pretty feed from Jaromir Jagr. Sean Avery came off the bench at the right time to......

Penguins 4, Islanders 2: A busy day for the Islanders didn't end with a win. They signed Mike Comrie to a contract extension, shipped off resident thug winger Chris Simon to the Minnesota Wild and also got rid of Marc-Andre Bergeron for a draft pick. Then they faced the depleted Penguins -- who made the biggest deal of the day in adding Marian Hossa -- and lost a bizarre game. They outshot the Pens 52-21,......

Rangers 4, Sabres 3: Not only did the Rangers exact some revenge for their defeat in last season's playoffs, but they improved their chances of qualifying for this postseason. Sean Avery broke a third-period tie and put the Rangers two points ahead of the Sabres in the race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Jaromir Jagr, Brandon and Nigel Dawes also scored for the Rangers, who have picked up points in their last......

76ers 124, Knicks 84: For the second time this season, the Knicks got blown out by the second-worst team in the division. How is that possible? Start with nine turnovers in the first quarter alone -- and 23 for the game. Sprinkle in some porous defense and everything should come out just fine. The Knicks lost by 40 despite shooting 46 percent from the floor. Too bad Philadelphia made 57 percent of its shots.Nets 110,......

While nothing is done until the players actually change teams, the Nets and Mavericks have agreed again on a trade that will send Jason Kidd to Dallas. After Devean George sabotaged the first deal with his refusal to waive his no-trade clause and Jerry Stackhouse incurred the wrath of the NBA with his comments, it took some creativity on both sides to complete the deal. The big winner is Keith Van Horn who got $4.3......

Photograph of the Rangers celebrating as Buffalo Sabres player Ales Kotalik skates away by Frank Franklin II/AP Rangers 5, Sabres 1: Five days off, but only 10 seconds to score. Sean Avery got the Blueshirts off to a great start and they finally got the taste of Sunday's overtime loss to Washington out of their mouths. "I don't think we expected that great of a start," said Brendan Shanahan. He has to be telling......

Raptors 109, Nets 91: If this is a sneak preview at life after Jason Kidd, it wasn't pretty. Well, even if this isn't a sneak preivew, it wasn't pretty. The Nets never led and trailed by as many as 30 north of the border. Then they got word that the Kidd deal may not be done yet. Thanks to the veto of Devean George, who was in the deal to balance out contracts and not......

Jason Kidd has finally gotten his wish and is heading out of town. ESPN is reporting that the Nets and Mavericks have agreed to a deal that will send Kidd to Dallas. While the transaction has not be finalized, it is believed that Kidd and Malik Allen will head to Dallas in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse, Devin Harris, a couple of expiring contracts, some future draft picks and some cash. For Kidd the trade brings......

Spurs 99, Knicks 93 (OT): Normally, the Knicks do this in reverse. They fall behind big early, rally to make things respectable and pat themselves on the back. This game was worse. They blew an 18-point third-quarter lead and then didn't seem to care about the result when the game went to overtime. This is the second time they've lost eight straight. Will they have another eight-game skid before the season ends?Nets 104, Bobcats 90:......

Seattle 86 Knicks 85: Make it a clean sweep, for their opponents that is. The Knicks lost all five games on their west coast swing blowing four second half leads along the way. Nate Robinson had a chance for a game-winning shot with time running out, but he missed and the Knicks will take a long flight home and have only a little time to prepare for Monday’s game with the Clippers. Atlanta 104 Nets......

Nets 87, Bucks 80: For one night at least, Jason Kidd did his best to help the Nets get maximum value in a trade. The Nets also proved that even they couldn't find a way to lose a weak team playing without its best player (Michael Redd). The fans cheered loudly for Kidd before the game, so they either want him gone -- and are cheering his efforts to leave -- or love him so......

Jason Kidd trade rumors are hardly new, but this time, they're probably for real. Nets President Rod Thorn and the guard have made no secret of the seemingly obvious incentives for both parties to want a deal before the Feb. 21 NBA trading deadline. Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter, the younger parts of the Big Three, have expensive contracts. Kidd has had enough of playing well for a team that is inconsistent at best and......

Timberwolves 98, Nets 95: Minnesota, with only eight wins on the season,hasn't been a complete rollover during the past 10 days, but that doesn't mean the team is any good. It was a good night for the Jeffersons -- Minnesota's Al had 41 and New Jersey's Richard had 35. The Nets have lost nine straight. The last six of those have come on the road against Western Conference teams. See for yourself which conference is......

Knicks 89 Philadelphia 76ers 81: The Knicks enjoyed a team effort in defeating another struggling Eastern Conference team, the Sixers. Five players scored in the double digits, led by Jamal Crawford's 18 pounts and Zach Randolph's 16 points and 14 rebounds. Coach Isiah Thomas said, "We have good shot distribution, everyone feels part of the game, everyone gets to touch the basketball." Late in the fourth quarter, the Knicks' 10 point lead was cut......

Celtics 86, Nets 77: Maybe the Nets should play as well in the even quarters as they do in the odd periods. New Jersey got outscored 23-9 in the fourth quarter and fell to the 30-4 Celtics. Josh Boone did well -- except when he was at the free-throw line. He had 14 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes, but he went 0-for-6 from the stripe. The Nets as a team made only 9......

Rockets 101 Knicks 92: At least the fans had a couple of things to cheer about Wednesday. Giants’ running back, Brandon Jacobs got a standing ovation and Isiah Thomas got thrown out. Thomas was upset over the fact that Yao Ming wasn’t called for a charge and wandered onto the court, earning the ejection. Thomas may have had a case, but with his team only behind by three, it was a bad time to......

Devils 2, Sabres 1 (SO): Aggressive play cost the Devils the win in regulation, but Martin Brodeur, Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias too center stage in the shootout to allow the Devils to continue their home dominance. They have picked up 21 of 22 points at their new Prudential Center in the last 11 games. Things didn't look so rosy when Jason Pominville tied the game with 1:47 to go, but the Devils bounced......

Edmonton 3 Rangers 2 (shootout): Pinching defensemen have become a vital part of the Rangers’ offense and Dan Girardi showed that again Saturday. With New York stymied offensively and losing 1-0 midway in the third, Girardi came in and put the puck on net. The bounce was odd, but the result was good as the Rangers tied the game at 1. Unfortunately for New York, Ryan Hollweg took a stupid boarding penalty and his five-minute......

Spurs 97, Knicks 93: The Spurs entered this game nearly perfect at home. What chance did the Knicks have? At least their draft lottery position keeps getting better. Eddy Curry appeared to be motivated. He had 25 points and 12 rebounds. Too bad the Knicks let the Spurs shoot 50 percent from 3-point range. This game could have turned out differently. Nets 102, Bobcats 96: Until Friday, the Nets hadn't won four straight games.......

Rangers 6, Maple Leafs 1: Nothing like making opponents pay dearly for their trips to the penalty box. The Rangers scored five of their six goals on the power play -- Blair Betts' icebreaker was the only even-strength goal -- and won their second straight game. This came against a Maple Leafs team that has struggled in the Northeast Division this season, but that won't bother Petr Prucha (two goals) or Jaromir jagr (one goal,......

Devils 2 Sabres 1 (Shootout): The Devils won their third-straight game by continuing their stifling defense and throwing a lot of shots on goal. It took awhile, but Mike Mottau scored with seven minutes left in the third to tie the game and Zach Parise scored the only goal of the shootout for the win. New Jersey’s win extends their Atlantic Division lead over the idle Penguins and Rangers. Nets 109 Washington 106: The Nets......

Nets 100, Warriors 95: With three minutes to go in this game, the Izod Center sounded like a morgue, and the Nets appeared on their way to a disheartening loss. A 14-point lead had turned into a one-point deficit. Careless passes led to easy Warriors baskets. But the Nets win consecutive games around major holidays -- remember that winning streak over Thanksgiving? Because of that, the Warriors wouldn't score again. Or maybe it was......

Knicks 94 Nets 86: Stop the presses, the Knicks have a winning streak against the Nets and this win came with Jason Kidd in the lineup. Saturday night went so well that the crowd never had to unleash the “fire Isiah” chants or anything else directed towards the Knicks’ management. Jamal Crawford led the way with 32 points and Zach Randolph added 20. Even Eddy Curry looked interested with 23 points and 9 rebounds,......

Nets 105, Cavaliers 97: Maybe the Nets should wear their road uniforms at home more often. The Nets' last win before Friday came at Cleveland, but that was when the Cavs didn't have LeBron James. Cleveland had its star on the court at Izod Arena, but the Nets had theirs, too. Vince Carter had 32 -- tying a season high -- and James "settled" for 29. Josh Boone put in 15 for New Jersey, though......

Clippers 91 Nets 82: The Nets simply couldn’t shoot Tuesday night, finishing a dismal 32% from the field in an ugly loss to the Clippers at the Izod Center. Jason Kidd managed a triple-double and Richard Jefferson had 21 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop LA. Chris Kaman and Tim Thomas each had 18 points while Dan “the Knicks cut me this offseason” Dickau added 11 points off the bench. Carl Pavano isn’t sure......