Rob Mahoney of S.I.'s The Point Forward gives out his "alternative awards" for the first quarter of the season, and lists the November 26th game between Brooklyn Nets & New York Knicks, in which the Nets emerged the victors 96-89 in overtime, as his early favorite for game of the year. An excerpt:

Neither team was necessarily at its best, but the playoff atmosphere, competitive margin and split crowd helped to turn this into one of the high points of the season.

Mahoney's assessment is spot-on -- the game was amazingly competitive, the crowd was into the game from both sides like no Nets-Knicks game before, and it featured star performances from the game's best players. The only game that could have beaten it excitement-wise happened last night.

Read more: The Point Forward -- Handing out alternative awards for the first quarter of the 2012-13 season