March 21, 2026, 1:02 p.m. ET

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (17-53) had one of their toughest challenges to end the season with the New York Knicks (46-25) and their fanbase visiting Barclays Center to continue the Crosstown rivalry. Brooklyn’s last matchup against New York resulted in a 54-point loss, but this time around, the Nets made sure to put forth a better effort in front of their fans.

The Nets lost to the Knicks on Friday 93-92, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying as Brooklyn had everything working for them, at least when it comes to pulling off an upset over one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Forward Josh Minott had 22 points and five rebounds off the bench while forward Ziaire Williams had 17 points and four rebounds.

“The fight was great, but it comes down to the free-throw line and some of those things we cannot control. 32 to 10, but if you do your math, is 22 free throws in difference,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said after Friday’s loss to the Knicks. Brooklyn shot 40.0% from the field, but they also held New York to 41.0% shooting and that explains why the scoring was so low by the end.

Not only did Minott and Williams step up for an injury-riddled Nets team, but they also contributed to what was a complete team effort when it came to limiting Knicks guard Jalen Brunson’s impact on the game. Brunson, who came into Friday’s game averaging 26.3 points per game on 46.4% shooting the floor, finished the contest with just 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting (37.0%).

Brooklyn racked up as much as a 13-point lead in the first half as they did whatever they wanted to do before the Knicks came out of halftime to win the third quarter 31-15 to flip the game on its head. The Nets have been enduring some blowout losses as of late due to the amount of injuries and tough opponents, but Friday showed that Fernandez can get his players to give maximum effort on any given night.

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Minott has had some big moments for the Nets since coming to the team from the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline and he put his entire skillset on display against the rival Knicks. Minott dropped 22 points (8-of-13 shooting from the field, 6-of-9 from three-point land), five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in just 26 minutes off the bench.

Ziaire Williams Continues Strong Finish To Season

Williams has been one of the players that has seen extended playing time due to the amount of injuries affecting the rotation and with the Nets focused on evaluating the rest of the roster. Williams has been a catalyst for Brooklyn recently and his stat line of 17 points, four rebounds, and one steal shows how much he is contributing on both ends of the floor.

Nets Show Impressive Pride And Physicality

In the last matchup between these teams, the Nets lost to the Knicks by 54 points. This time around, the players and head coach Jordi Fernandez made it clear that something had to chance with their effort level and physicality. From the beginning, Brooklyn played with a different intensity and they bothered New York for the entire first half and that was the main reason that the game ended up so close in the end.