Photograph of Islanders celebrating a second period goal from Ruslan Fedotenko by Frank Franklin II/AP Islanders 4 Rangers 3 (Shootout): This was not a game for fans of goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist was terrible, Wade Dubielewicz was too but better when it counted and the Islanders prevailed in a sloppy game. Blake Comeau got things started when he scored by throwing the puck off of Michal Rozsival to put the Islanders in front. The Rangers......

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......

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:......

Pacers 103, Knicks 100: Remember in the 90s when these teams enjoyed one of the best rivalries in sports? Those were the days. In 2008, they're playing to see who can have the longest losing streak. The biggest loser: the Knicks. They have now lost seven straight, the same streak the Pacers brought into this game. Zach Randolph turned in an inspired effort of 26 points, but he and his teammates didn't appear motivated on......

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.......

Nets 96, Magic 95: Vince Carter won this game with two clutch free throws at the end, but it was former Magic Darrell Armstrong who provided the biggest of several sparks off the bench. He had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and a critical hand on defense during Orlando's last possession. The Nets outscored the Magic, 31-18, in the fourth quarter and have now won five of six games. If they keep this up,......

There's one member of the Mets that is up for the Hall of Fame today. The Mascot Hall of Fame, that is. The round-headed ball of a mascot is trailing by about 5,500 votes in the race for popularity on the Mascot Hall of Fame website. He trails The Coyote, the mascot of the San Antonio Spurs. The Post pulls out all the stops to make sure Mr. Met is the top vote getter.......

Mr. Met's hat may be cocked, but he's not cocky after being nominated for the online entity that is the Mascot Hall of Fame. Mets organization officials said the usually mute mascot remained speechless at the honor. Induction is not a sure thing. Other candidates, which will be voted for online, include the Coyote for the San Antonio Spurs, Hugo the Hornet for the New Orleans Hornets, the Oriole bird for the Baltimore Orioles,......

Pittsburgh 3 Rangers 2 (OT): To say New York hit a wall would be an understatement. After building a 2-0 lead through two periods, the Rangers came out and looked like they were skating in cement during the third period. They gave Pittsburgh too many chances, and the Penguins capitalized, tying the game in regulation before winning it off of a turnover in overtime. Jaromir Jagr missed the entire third period because of a leg......

Knicks 107, Lakers 106:Well, that didn't take long. The Knicks have reached 23 wins -- matching last season's win total -- by defeating the Lakers (only their 7th loss at home this season) and sweeping the season series. Although Kobe Bryant was suspended for the Lakers for the matchup at the Garden but scored 31 on Tuesday night. The game-winning basket came after a missed 3-pointer and an offensive rebound. Jamal Crawford, who led the......

-Spurs 100, Knicks 92: Quentin Richardson scored 21 points, but Spurs guard Tony Parker torched the Knicks for 33 as New York lost to a Texas team for the second straight night. On Friday, it was the Knicks' interior defense that did them in; Saturday the opponents' attack was more balanced. Richardson's had a solid start to the season, but Channing Frye and Eddy Curry will need to step up to help the Knicks right......

-Spurs 105, Knicks 93: In their season-opener, the Knicks nearly blew a 19-point lead and nearly lost to the Grizzlies before winning in triple overtime. On Monday, the Knicks nearly came back from a 23-point deficicit, but, after closing it to one, watched the Spurs beat back the rally. Should Isiah Thomas write this off his team's second-half effort becaues it happened in a loss, just as he ignored his team's near collapse in what......

Happy Fat Tuesday! To help you celebrate it up here LIFEbeat Presents the Manhattan Mardi Gras. The proceeds will go to NO/AIDS Task Force. The New Orleans based AIDS service organization was virtually wiped out by hurricane Katrina. So even if we're in the Big Apple, we can help out the Big Easy. "Who's performing?" you ask. Think 90's, think parachute pants, think "Behind the Music"...get it yet? M.C. Hammer! Dance music diva Barbara Tucker......

This afternoon, the Knicks will announce the hiring of NBA vagabond Larry Brown as the new coach of the Knicks. The contract pays Brown around $10 million per season. Brown is 64 and is already a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. He has coached teams to both an NCAA title and an NBA championship, and is widely regarded (along with Phil Jackson) as the NBA's top coach. While the move was sudden, nothing......

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. For Detroit, Chauncey Billups just wrecked the Spurs defenders with 34......

While examining your weekend options, it's worth a mention that Game 2 of the NBA Finals is Sunday night at 9pm. If you haven't been to your local sports bar lately, it's a great excuse to pound some beer and wings with your buddies on a school night. The Spurs and Pistons kicked off The Finals last night, but the ratings for these supposedly "boring" teams were so low that a rerun of CSI actually......

While the basketball arenas of the New York area have been dark for almost two months, the NBA playoffs have been chugging on. For those of you who stopped watching in April, or hopefully earlier if you are a Knicks fan, the NBA Finals are upon us. This year, the World Champion, Detroit Pistons will take on the San Antonio Spurs for the title. The Spurs are led by Tim Duncan, their multi-talented Center. Duncan......

Playoff basketball in the NYC area came and went just that fast. The Nets are done for the season after a 110-97 loss to Miami on Sunday afternoon. Dwayne Wade continued to torch the Nets with explosive play; amazingly, Wade averaged 26 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds per game for the series in just his second NBA season. Add those stats to those of 3-time champion Shaq, and the Nets were doomed. Wade......

7 points in 22 seconds. That pretty much sums up the Nets' night in a 90-86 loss to the Pacers on Wednesday. 39 year-old Reggie Miller continued his 2nd half surge with 22 points and some heroic shots (including a 4-point play) to clinch a playoff spot for Indiana and push the Nets 1.5 games out of the Eastern Conference race with just 5 games to play. The Nets actually led by 11 at halftime......

After two disappointing losses on Saturday, hopes of a NY-area team making the NBA playoffs are looking fairly grim. The Knicks stand 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with just 12 left to play, while the Nets are a (somewhat) more manageable 3 1/2 games back. Current #7 and #8 East seeds Indiana and Philadelphia have played with serious heart in the last week, notching wins against the likes of the Spurs,......

Wow! Two nights after beating the Spurs, the Knicks took it to the Boston Celtics with authority last night. The Celtics trash-talked through the first quarter, earning technical fouls along the way, and the Knicks responded with perhaps their best game of the season in a 107-82 demolition at the Garden. This is even more impressive when you know that Boston has an 11-1 (well, now 11-2) record since trading for Antoine Walker last month.......

A marquee matchup? Not so much. That said, the Knicks will take it. Stephon Marbury had 31 points and Malik Rose added 18 against his old team as the Knicks beat the Spurs 88-75 last night at the Garden. The game was rather messy, as 2-time MVP Tim Duncan, Kurt Thomas, and Penny Hardaway all missed the game due to injury. A gimpy Manu Ginobili (who has a groin injury) played, but rarely contributed in......

The Vince Carter trade was supposed to continue the reversal of fortunes for the area's two clubs: The Nets would climb back into the playoffs, while the Knicks would fade due to Isiah's over-tinkering. Well...not so fast. The Nets (now 26-35) were painfully reminded of the offense-challenged 2003 Finals last night by the Spurs. NJ only managed 28 points in the first half, and ended up losing 90-74. Vince Carter shot only 4-for-18 and added......

Friday's ugly loss to the Magic put some spark in the Knicks on Sunday. They beat the Golden State Warriors 115-99 at MSG, and have now won 4 of their last 5. The trio of Tim Thomas, Stephon Marbury, and Michael Sweetney scored a total of 70 (!!) for NY, and new acquisition Mo Taylor added 15 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. Friday's setback aside, it does seem like the somewhat maligned trades......

The NBA trading deadline, Gothamist's second favorite day of the year, was yesterday (our favorite day of the year has been well documented), and since you can't spell "trade deadline" without I.T., Knicks GM Isiah Thomas made not one, but two highly questionable deals in response to other moves made by Philadelphia and Boston. The first sent Nazr Mohammed, New York's only true center, and back up PG Jamison Brewer to San Antonio for malik......

40-point games are becoming an everyday thing for Vince Carter. Last night, he managed to put another one up by the end of the 3rd quarter. After that, things got a little chippy. Carter had long been stewing about last year's season-ending injury at the hands of the Spurs' Bruce Bowen, and tempers flared last night. Carter and Bowen headbutted in the 3rd quarter, leading to a double technical. Later, VC charged Bowen after a......

It was a terrible night for fans of New York hoops. Even Isiah Thomas couldn't buy a piece of good basketball news. The Nets suffered a severe blow to their comeback hopes when it was announced yesterday that Richard Jefferson will be out with an injury for the remainder of the season. Jefferson ruptured ligaments in his left wrist, which requires surgery followed by four months of time in a cast or in physical therapy.......

Randy Kim, NBA.com...

Proving that nothing in New York is cheap, a recent study by Sportsbusinessnews.com confirmed that the New York Knickerbockers were officially the worst bargain in the league this season. When you divide the Knicks $94,395,091 payroll (highest in the league) by 39, the number of W’s they notched this season, the results show that each victory cost owner James Dolan $2,420,387. Need proof that shrewd cap mangement can put you in position to win a......