The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks are both as connected, and as far apart, as they’ve ever been.
In an injury-ravaged East, New York has its best chance to advance to the NBA Finals this year in more than two decades. But the Nets, as we all know, are the “other” kind of team right now, focused on the future and developing young talent above before anything else. Yes, that includes winning games, even if they won’t say it.
That said, each team is taking on their opposite tasks with tools from the other. The Bridges trade gave Brooklyn all the assets they needed, and then some, to supply the rebuild. The Knicks? They got Bridges. I don’t think he’s going to be the piece that lifts them to a title, but they sure as hell do, and that’s all that matters.
Sure, this was all true last year each time the two teams met. But now, with a whole season between the trade, any Bridges animosity, if there ever was any, has worn off among Nets fans. Notorious Knick-killer Cam Thomas wasn’t able to suit up either, zapping the hype out of this one that was limited to begin with.
That set the scene for a rather humdrum, forced-feeling rivalry matchup on Sunday afternoon when the Nets crossed over into Manhattan.
The game’s opening minutes fit everyone’s agenda. Egor Dëmin started for a second straight contest alongside Nic Claxton, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, and Terance Mann. New York also started the game up 12-3, cupping together a lead that would only snowball until the final horn.
The 3-point shot stuck a wedge between the crosstown teams in the first. Despite creating an abundance of high-percentage looks, Brooklyn started the game shooting just 1-10 from deep. New York, high or low percentage, made ’em all, or so it seemed, going 7-11 from deep. That shooting supported an 11-0 New York run to close out the frame and give the Knicks a 40-22 lead.
“NBA players are so good even though you’re not ‘a shooter’ or a player that you want to limit the three-point line for that player, if you see it going in, it’s uncontested, then you make a couple, then all of a sudden, it’s really hard,“ Fernández said. ”We made it really hard on ourselves the way we read those situations and those close outs.“
Drake Powell started the second half after picking up a few minutes in the first as well. The raw, yet exciting prospect was more the former early on, getting tagged with a few fouls and a turnover. But in the second, he flashed his athleticism, at one point elevating over Bridges for a three, and then Deuce McBride to finish inside.
The Nets started the second quarter 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from deep, but their defense experienced no such turnaround. Whether catching up from turnovers or doubles, Brooklyn’s defense was perpetually a step behind, and New York looked like a team built on trust and chemistry, assisting on 20 of 28 made field goals in the second period. They abused Brooklyn’s weak interior defense with baseline cuts and eight offensive rebounds, leading to six second-chance points as well.
Fernández recalled one possession postgame where New York got a layup after a made free throw, where his frustration with the defense peaked.
“Those are the situations where we want to grow — having a level of attention and communication to all those things, and it’s not happening,” he said. “Obviously, I cannot go out there and coach every play and every action. I know our guys have the ability to be way better, and we have very high expectations for our guys on how they work and how they compete.”
Dëmin returned in the second to offer another dosage of encouraging rookie play devoid of any impact on the scoreboard. Those concerned over his lacking field goal attempts earlier this season should feel relieved seeing him navigate around one of the game’s best rim defenders on this take out of the pick-and-roll…
Porter Jr. also dropped in a few more makes Knicks fans could only shrug or shake their head at…
But the Nets still trailed 77-62 at halftime, even after dropping 40 in the second, burnt by New York’s .651/.556/.917 splits between each of the first two quarters. Porter Jr. led everyone in the scoring department at that point, chipping in 22 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and going 4-6 from deep.
New York then started the third on a 14-1 run. Yes, you read that correctly. What was already a lopsided game completely broke off its axle. Josh Hart started hitting step back threes. After not playing any minutes in the first half and shooting 23% from deep on the season, Guerschon Yabusele came off the bench and immediately buried one too. The Knicks snagged nine points on the break and snatched whatever assortment of pride you had left from the depths of your soul. They won the quarter 35-17.
The remainder of the game offered very little from an entertainment standpoint with the Nets down 112-79 at the start of the fourth. But while surely an uncompetitive one, the Nets wouldn’t be a wasteful NBA team. Brooklyn used the fourth to get their young players more burn, including Tyson Etienne, who checked in as early as the 10:14 point of the fourth.
Noah Clowney, who started the game, also remained on the floor, though that only extended a night filled with frustration for the now three-year pro.
Clowney’s rollercoaster start to the season took a steep plummet against New York, shooting 1-9 from the field and 0-7 from deep in 22 minutes of play. It even got to a point where Karl Anthony Towns stopped guarding him out on the perimeter. KAT hooked him on a drive to the rack around the eight minute mark of the fourth, which went uncalled. Clowney, unhappy and making that clear to a nearby official, picked up a technical foul and a seat on the bench soon after.
E.J. Liddell came around that time, eventually finishing out the game with Tyrese Martin, Jalen Wilson, Etienne, Powell, and New York’s deep bench players.
Powell had no shame using the garbage time to his advantage. While it was only his fourth game and the second where he logged 20+ minutes, he notched a career-high 15 points after shooting 5-8 from the field and 3-3 from deep. Respecting both sides of the ball, you can make a case that he was the best Net out there tonight.
He also engaged in some playful banter with Spike Lee…
Porter Jr. led all Nets with 25 points after shooting 9-18 from the field and 4-9 from the field. Claxton, though limited by some foul trouble, turned in another solid night, adding 12 points, five assists, five rebounds, and blocking two shots.
But the positive numbers for Brooklyn end there. There wasn’t much of an attempt to put lipstick on a pig with a back door cover either. Things stayed ugly until the final buzzer, and the Nets stay on a shortlist of the worst teams in the league right now.
Final: New York Knicks 134, Brooklyn Nets 98
The Nets ruled Day’Ron Sharpe out for the remainder of the game tonight with left hamstring tightness. The injury appeared to happen around the two-minute mark of the third quarter after Sharpe signaled to the bench to be taken out while at the free-throw line.
Postgame, Fernández called it “just tightness” when speaking on his hamstring.
NBAE via Getty Images
You’ll get no judgement from me if you’re not interested in watching another one after that, but for the brave, the Nets will come back to the Barclays Center on Tuesday night for a date with the Toronto Raptors. As of Sunday afternoon, the Raps are 5-5 on the season, and have gotten 8.8/1.3/3.9 from Collin Murray-Boyles, who they took right after Brooklyn selected Dëmin this summer.