New York 85, Brooklyn 88

Nets 88, Knicks 85: Joe Johnson hit the go-ahead basket with 22.3 seconds left and scored 25 points as visiting Brooklyn defeated New York for its eighth win in 10 games.

Deron Williams had 14 points and 12 assists and Brook Lopez had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who earned a split of the four-game season series with the Knicks. Johnson drained five of Brooklyn’s 12 3-pointers.

Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points for New York while J.R. Smith added 16 points but missed a 3-point bank shot at the buzzer. Amar’e Stoudemire scored 15 for the Knicks, who saw their lead in the Atlantic Division over the Nets diminish to one game.

The Knicks led 75-72 on a 3-pointer by Smith with just over nine minutes remaining. Johnson scored eight points during an 11-2 run that saw the Nets take an 83-77 advantage with 5:37 left.

Brooklyn missed its next six shots and New York overtook the Nets on two free throws by Anthony with 40.9 seconds to play. Johnson responded with the go-ahead hoop, Anthony air-balled a short shot with 11 seconds remaining and Williams hit two free throws with 8.3 seconds left to make it a three-point game.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Williams missed a free throw with 5.7 seconds remaining to end his streak of consecutive makes at 52. … The 20-point effort was Anthony’s 26th in a row. The club record is 29 straight by Richie Guerin (1961-62). … Kris Humphries had 11 points and 13 rebounds off the bench to help Brooklyn record a 52-37 edge on the boards.

• New York will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Knicks have a W/L % of .615 after a win and .692 after a loss.
• Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Minnesota . The Nets have a W/L % of .708 after a win and .471 after a loss.