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. Air Max 97 2020 . Tyutin has missed the last nine games with an ankle injury which occurred while playing for Russia at the Olympics. The top-two defenceman has four goals and 20 assists, 30 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 53 games with Columbus this season. Air Max 97 Night Maroon .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. http://www.airmax97outlet.it/scontate-ai...orange.html.com) - The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors are back in the great white north for a brief moment and will host the Dallas Mavericks Friday night from Air Canada Centre. Air Max 97 Grigie . Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. Air Max 97 Plus Light Orewood Brown . -- Brady Heslip scored a season-high 20 points to help Baylor beat No. MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian Jason Day shot a 5-under 66 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the World Cup at Royal Melbourne. Day had a three-round total of 9-under 204 playing in his first tournament since finding out eight relatives, including his grandmother, died in Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines on Nov. 9. The wind picked up Saturday, taking away any advantage some morning rain did to slow down the slick greens. "You just have to have some patience," Day said. "I like playing difficult golf courses, thats what I do better at." Second-round leader Thomas Bjorn of Denmark shot 71 and was in second place, while American Matt Kuchar had 68 and was in third, three behind. "I felt like I was in control, as sharp as I would have liked to be," Kuchar said. "I did miss out on a couple of good opportunities, but I also made a handful and got up and down from some pretty ugly places." Stuart Manley of Wales had an incredible up-and-down day, following a hole-in-one on the third with an 11 on the fourth. But he recovered with an eagle and birdie on the back nine to finish with a 72 and tied for eighth. "The highest high to the lowest low," said Manley, who patted the roof of a car on the tee after the shot, thinking he had won it, but the car is only available for a hole-in-one during Sundays fiinal round.dddddddddddd Australia leads the World Cup team standings at 11 under, one ahead of the U.S team of Kuchar and Kevin Streelman. Italys Francesco Molinari moved up the leaderboard with a 66 and was fourth, while Streelman had a 74 and is in fifth place, five strokes out of the lead. Molinari won the World Cup with his brother Edoardo in 2009. "It was obviously a very good day," Molinari said of Saturdays round. "I seemed to play better on the front nine for some reason and then it was a bit of a battle really coming back in. I dropped a shot on 16 and holed a few nice putts for par." Masters champion Adam Scott also was tied for eighth after a 68. After an opening 75 that included an 11 on one hole, the Australian has slowly moved up the leaderboard as he attempts to win his third straight tournament. But Scott said the Royal Melbourne greens are wearing him down. He won last weeks Australian Masters at Royal Melbourne after winning the Australian PGA the week before and will try to win the Australian Open next week at Royal Sydney to capture the so-called Triple Crown. "Ive hit so many putts from 50 and 60 feet in the last two weeks, its hard to make them all the time," Scott said. "Its hard to even just two-putt them around here because youre fearful of knocking it seven or eight feet by all the time." ' ' '