NET NOTES

AUBURN HILLS – The Nets have a rivalry with Boston. With Indiana. And even with Detroit. But the Knicks?

“Normally in a rivalry it takes two strong teams,” said Byron Scott, slipping in a little slip to spice up tomorrow night’s meeting at the Garden. “Boston and the Nets right now is a little bit of a rivalry. The Pacers and the Nets are a little bit of a rivalry. Even Detroit, there’s a little bit of a rivalry, because it’s two very good teams going against each other. Even though I know the Knicks are a little down, they’re playing much better. I don’t think it becomes a rivalry until you have both teams on equal ground, both teams playing extremely well. We’ve won the last six games against them, so I don’t think it’s a rivalry yet.”

Yeah, but it used to be the other way around where the Knicks looked across the river and laughed and felt the bunch from The Swamp were unworthy. So doesn’t history – and geography – count for something?

“Nah,” Scott said flatly, drawing a comparison with the Lakers and Clippers. “It’s still not a rivalry. It might be in the Clippers’ minds, but it’s not in the Lakers’ minds.”

The Knicks tomorrow represent part of an intriguing week for the Nets who face Detroit twice (last night here, Saturday at the Meadowlands) and the Lakers, also at home, on Thursday.

“I kind of like this whole week,” Scott said. “We’ll see how far we’ve come as a team . . . Our next three-out-of-four games are against teams that are very good. It’ll be an interesting week to see how it goes.”

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Thursday’s game against the Lakers also is the annual “Toys for Tots” game sponsored by the Nets and the U.S. Marines. Fans are asked to bring an unwrapped toy for needy children. Marines will collect them at various entrances to the arena . . . Nets brought a five-game winning streak to Auburn Hills. But all five victories came at home. “we’re gathering some momentum. Obviously the homestand helped us, but to me the tell-tale sign is on the road. There’s only [three] teams in the East with winning records on the road (Boston, Indiana, Detroit) and we should be one of those teams,” Scott said

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Richard Jefferson on Detroit holding a 1-3 edge vs. the Nets last season: “We were 1-3 but one game didn’t count. We were 1-2 vs. them.” Jefferson referred to a late-season game where the Nets had clinched and had nothing to play for in terms of homecourt and standings.