WALTHAM — Doc Rivers didn’t see the game, but he said Monday night’s Big Apple Showdown between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets was good for the NBA.

The game had been scheduled Nov. 1 as the season opener for both teams, but was postponed when Hurricane Sandy struck the New York metropolitan area. On Monday, the Nets got 22 points from Brook Lopez and 16 apiece from guard Deron Williams and forward Gerald Wallace to defeat the Knicks, 96-89, in overtime in Brooklyn.