NEW YORK -- At least the New York Knicks can say they won a city championship. Only the Brooklyn Nets have a chance to compete for a real one -- though theyd better play a lot better than this. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 16 points and the Knicks, playing without the injured Carmelo Anthony, beat the Nets 109-98 on Tuesday night to win the season series between city rivals. And in an otherwise massively disappointing season, apparently local bragging rights do matter. "Hell yeah," Knicks guard J.R. Smith said. "I mean, Im cool with some of those guys over there, so I can still say something when were in the gym this summer. As long as I can say they didnt beat us that many times, were good." The Knicks prevented the Nets from clinching the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and won their third straight in their too-little, too-late strong finish. Amare Stoudemire and Smith each added 14 points. Anthony had an MRI exam Tuesday that revealed a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He wont play Wednesday against Toronto, the final game of the first season in his 11-year career that wont end with a playoff berth -- and potentially his last as a member of the Knicks. He has said he will become a free agent in July. Marcus Thornton scored 24 points for the Nets, who werent sharp despite playing starters Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. The other starter, Shaun Livingston, remained sidelined with a sprained right big toe. The Nets still have a magic number of one for finishing fifth. But they could fall to No. 6 if they lose Wednesday in Cleveland and Washington beats Boston. "Tonight was an example of how not to take a step forward. We were off our game offensively, defensively, all phases of the game and thats not how you want to go into the playoffs," Pierce said. The Knicks would be in the playoffs themselves if they played against everyone else the way they did against the Nets while winning three romps. All four games were on national TV, though none was really worth watching after halftime. The Knicks won a pair of routs, 113-83 at Barclays Center in December and 110-81 at Madison Square Garden two weeks ago. The Nets won by 23 in their lone victory. The overhyped city series didnt live up to preseason expectations, much like the Knicks. Players from both sides had sparred in the press during the summer after the Nets made their big off-season moves, expecting to battle to be the best in New York and also the Atlantic Division. Well, the division champion isnt from New York -- or even the U.S. Toronto finished ahead of both teams. The Knicks have defeated the Raptors, Bulls and Nets, currently the Easts Nos. 3-5 seeds, in their last three games, and coach Mike Woodson said it was "irritating" that his team would be watching the playoffs from home. "If we had handled our business early on and didnt let some of the close games get away, we probably wouldnt be standing here. Wed probably be preparing for playoff basketball, but thats not the case," Woodson said. "We put ourselves in this hole and were going to have to live with it this summer and then try to figure it out next season." The Knicks led 29-18 after one and the game got fun midway through the second quarter. Stoudemire had a powerful follow dunk over Mason Plumlee, screaming into the rookies ear afterward. Plumlee responded in the best way possible, dunking on the Nets next two possessions. Plumlee finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. But Brooklyn never really got into the game, and the only real interest in the second half were some occasional dueling chants between the split crowd. A "Goodbye Melo!" chant from a section of Nets fans was soon followed by a loud "Lets go Knicks!" NOTES: The Nets wore their Brooklyn Dodgers-inspired grey uniforms on Jackie Robinson Day. He debuted for the Dodgers as the first black player in the major leagues on this date in 1947. ... Pierce became the sixth player in NBA history to score 1,000 points in 15 straight seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19), Karl Malone (18), John Havlicek (16), Elvin Hayes (15) and Robert Parish (15). ... Mirza Teletovics wife gave birth to twins earlier Tuesday and the Nets reserve forward also will miss Wednesdays game. Stanley Johnson Pistons Jersey . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. Tracy McGrady Pistons Jersey . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. https://www.pistonsrookiesshop.com/Mateen-Cleaves-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (5) – He had a brilliant game; it was a huge response for his average games before. Thon Maker Pistons Jersey . -- Canadian womens amateur golf champion Brooke Henderson is a little less starstruck as she prepares for her second career appearance at an LPGA Tour major event. Tony Snell Pistons Jersey . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory.TSN.ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Rankings were weighted evenly between separate lists made by TSN Radio host and soccer analyst Gareth Wheeler as well as TSN.cas soccer editors. 1. Chelsea (Last Week-1) Frank Lampards free kick in the 93rd minute evaded everyone, including Everton keeper Tim Howard, and found the net as Chelsea snatched a 1-0 victory over Everton. Initially the goal was credited to John Terry, but was eventually changed to Lampards winner by the goals committee. 2. Manchester City (LW-2) Midfielder Yaya Toure scored the only goal as Manchester City held on for a 1-0 victory over Stoke. Edin Dzeko had a chance to add to the advantage but missed an open net from two yards. 3. Liverpool (LW-3) Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge both scored twice to lead Liverpool to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Swansea at Anfield. The home side held 2-0 and 3-1 advantages in the first half but were pulled into a 3-3 tie, before finally netting the winner in the 74th minute. 4. Arsenal (LW-4) Two goals from Olivier Giroud on his return to the lineup, including the opener five minutes into the contest, led the Gunners to a 4-1 victory over Sunderland. 5. Tottenham (LW-5) Though they had a few scoring chances, Tottenham was not able to find the net as they fell 1-0 to Norwich. 6. Manchester United (LW-7) Robin van Persie converted a penalty and Wayne Rooney celebrated his new contract with a goal as Manchester United cruised to a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace. 7. Everton (LW-6) It looked as though Everton was going to hang on for a well fought point, before Frank Lampards winner three minutes into stoppage time sent Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over the visitors. 8. Newcastle United (LW-9) Newcastle were winless since mid-January when Loic Remy scored in injury time to provide them with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa. 9. Southampton (LW-8) Maya Yoshida scored in the eighth minute to give Southampton the lead, but despite a shot and possession advantage, they slumped to a 3-1 ddefeat at the hands of West Ham United.dddddddddddd 10. West Ham United (LW-11) After falling behind eight minutes into the match, West Ham scored twice in the first half and again in the second to earn a 3-1 victory over Southampton. Matthew Jarvis, Carlton Cole and Kevin Nolan provided the offence. 11. Hull City (LW-14) A brace from Nikica Jelavic, plus goals from Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore led Hull to an easy 4-0 victory over Cardiff. 12. Swansea City (LW-10) Three goals at Anfield were not enough to spring an upset as Swansea fell 4-3 to Liverpool. Jonjo Shelvey and Wilifried Bony scored for the Swans who were also gifted a Martin Skrtel own goal. 13. Norwich City (LW-18) Robert Snodgrass was the difference as home standing Norwich beat Tottenham 1-0. It was just the Canaries second victory in their last 12 league matches. 14. Aston Villa (LW-13) A road point slipped through Aston Villas fingers in the 92nd minute when they conceded a Loic Remy winner and fell 1-0 at the hands of Newcastle. 15. Stoke City (LW-12) Stoke frustrated title contender Manchester City in the first half and into the 70th minute before finally conceding the only goal in a 1-0 loss. 16. West Bromwich Albion (LW-16) Matej Vydra scored four minutes from time to earn West Brom a 1-1 draw with Fulham. 17. Crystal Palace (LW-15) Glenn Murray made his first start in nine months but wasnt able to help Crystal Palace avoid a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. 18. Sunderland (LW-17) Emanuele Giaccherini scored for Sunderland in the 81st minute, but it was all they would get out of a 4-1 loss to Arsenal. 19. Fulham (LW-20) Fulham keeper Maarten Stekelenburg flubbed a shot from Matej Vydra which squirted through him and into the net as the Cottagers were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with West Brom. Ashkan Dejagah opened the scoring for Fulham in the 28th minute. 20. Cardiff City (LW-19) Cardiff is now 19th in the table after a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Hull City. Two goals in each half doomed them to the heavy loss. ' ' '