Schedule and 2004 Results
Regular Season Records: New Jersey 47-35, New York 39-43
Game 1 on Saturday, 17 Apr: New York loses at New Jersey, 107-pts-83
Game 2 on Tuesday, 20 Apr: New York loses at New Jersey, 99-pts-81
Game 3 on Thursday, 22 Apr: New Jersey wins at New York, 81-pts-78
Game 4 on Sunday, 25 Apr: New Jersey wins at New York, 100-pts-94

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 4: The New Jersey Nets visited and defeated the New York Knickerbockers 100-pts-94 in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL series 922 Game 4, thereby sweeping series 922, 4-games-nil. With the series victory, the New Jersey Nets improve their overall NBA best-of-7 record to 6-3 and their Preliminary-round series record to 2-0. The New York Knickerbockers see their overall NBA best-of-7 series record fall to 17-23 and their Preliminary-round series record fall to 0-1. Best-of-7 series 922 is thus the second NBA best-of-7 Preliminary round series, the 41st best-of-7 NBA series (all rounds), and the 154th MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series (all rounds) to end in a four-game sweep. Series 922 is the third sweep achieved by the New Jersey Nets and the third sweep suffered by the New York Knickerbockers.

After Game 3: With best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL series 922 having shifted to Madison Square Garden for Game 3, the New Jersey Nets once again topped the New York Knickerbockers (81-pts-78 in Game 3), thereby taking a 3-games-nil series lead. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-nil, the New Jersey Nets have a 2-0 series record and a 2-0 Game 4 record; when trailing 3-games-nil, the New York Knickerbockers have a 0-3 series record and a 1-2 Game 4 record. The 2003 NBA playoff season was the first to feature a best-of-7 format Preliminary-round; in 2003, series 894 was the only one of the eight 2003 Preliminary-round NBA series to open 3-games-nil, but having taken that lead, the Dallas Mavericks didn't win the series until Game 7 against the Portland Trailblazers. A comeback from a 3-games-nil deficit is more likely (slightly more, at least) in the early playoff rounds and by young teams new to the playoffs. Both the NBA New York Knickerbockers and the Memphis Grizzlies are now down 3-games-nil; in terms of a series comeback, the upstart Grizzlies may enjoy the very slightest of edges (at least when compared to New York).

After Game 2: The New Jersey Nets again hosted and again defeated the New York Knickerbockers, 99-pts-81 in series 922 Game 2, to take a 2-games-nil lead in their best-of-7 playoff series. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the New Jersey Nets have a 3-0 overall series record and a 2-1 Game 3 record; when down 2-games-nil, the New York Knickerbockers have a 0-11 overall series record and an 8-3 Game 3 record (with an active six-Game 3 winning streak).

After Game 1: The New Jersey Nets hosted and defeated the New York Knickerbockers 107-pts-83 to take a 1-game-nil lead in best-of-7 playoff series 922. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the New Jersey Nets have a 5-1 overall series record and a 3-3 Game 2 record; when down 1-game-nil, the New York Knickerbockers have a 4-16 overall series record and a 9-11 Game 2 record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2003-04 regular season, New Jersey finished 8 games ahead of New York. From 1947 through 2003, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by eight regular-season games, they have posted a 15-4 (.789) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents, with an active eleven-series winning streak. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 922 is the 40th best-of-7 playoff series for New York and the 9th for New Jersey. In best-of-7 playoff series, New York has a 17-22 series record, a 0-0 Prelim-round series record, and a 19-20 Game 1 record, while New Jersey has a 5-3 record, a 1-0 Prelim-round record, and a 6-2 Game 1 record. Series 922 is the first best-of-7 meeting between New York and New Jersey.