NEW YORK – The big news inside Madison Square Garden on Monday evening had little to do with the New Jersey Nets, and even less to do with the Knicks. The resignation of Indiana GM Donnie Walsh, long to be rumored as the prime candidate to replace Isiah Thomas as team president, occupied the minds of beat writers on both sides of the Hudson River.

But Thomas reserved comment, and Mark Jackson, now an announcer with both ABC and YES who previously played for the Knicks and Pacers over a 17-year career, wouldn’t elaborate of Walsh’s future.

“He’s a great man, and a great basketball mind,” the former St. John’s product said before the Nets defeated the Knicks, 106-91. “It is sad to hear, knowing what he meant to the community. At the same time, I wish him nothing but the best.”

Thomas, who has seen nothing but the worst of times during his four-plus seasons in New York, didn’t offer much with respect to his stay here, which should conclude, mercifully, at the end of this season.

Which all leads back to the basketball game that was played at the Garden last night. In past years, the New Jersey would make the 12 mile journey from their home along Route 3, into the Garden, knowing there was a good chance their return trip would be a pleasant one.

But, because the Jason Kidd factor does not exist anymore, and the fact that the Knicks had already cinched their first series victory since 1999-2000, there just wasn’t as much juice as fans were accustomed to. Until their December 5 meeting, –in which Kidd rested with his now-infamous migraine- the Nets had won 23 of 25, including playoffs, with the future Hall-of-Fame guard on the floor.

Now, in the Post-Kidd Era, Lawrence Frank haven’t been as fortunate. He, and his team, entered MSG with losses in two straight games, three of four, and nine of their last 12 games. The victory ended a nine-game road losing streak; just last week, Memphis waltzed into the Garden and snapped an 18-game road skein. Still, New Jersey [29-41] remains just 1½ games out of eighth place in the East.

New York, in the position to play spoiler, had its own concerns. The loss was Thomas’ 100th in 152 games since he replaced Larry Brown. The Knicks, losers of seven consecutive home games and 13 of 36 overall, have matched a record of futility not witnessed in nearly 45 years. Archivists have shoveled as far as back to November 26-December 17, 1963 to document the last time New York dropped this many in one season within their own building; then, that was the third incarnation of MSG. The current edifice has been in place since 1968.

The Knicks [19-51] have now dropped five straight and 12 of its last 13. If they run the table, which is still a very real possibility, they would have lost 24 of the final 25.

New Jersey has won 11 of 15, and 12 of 17 in this series, including 12 of the last 15 at the Garden. The Knicks have not swept a season series from the Nets since winning all three games during the 1998-99 season. Kidd joined the Nets in 2001.

Vince Carter [27 points, seven assists and six rebounds], Richard Jefferson [21 of his 26 points in the first half], and Nenad Krstic [22 points, six boards] starred for the visitors. Carter and Jefferson were particularly deadly from beyond the arc, as they hit for a combined nine-of-15. As a unit, New Jersey hit 53.6% of their field goals, including 10-of-17 from three-point range.

Jamal Crawford, who averaged 32 points over the first three meetings between the two teams, finished with 26 and eight assists.

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