Jalen Brunson and the Knicks were a misfiring mess all night, but apparently it\u2019s never too late to get off the struggle bus against the pathetic Nets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An inexcusable defeat Friday night was only averted because Brooklyn couldn\u2019t generate a potential game-winner at the buzzer \u2014 instead mismanaging an out-of-bounds play that left rookie Ben Saraf launching an airball \u2014 allowing the Knicks to escape Barclays Center with a 93-92 win that was more shameful than respectable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey brought the fight to us. They came out, obviously they wanted to prove a point,\u201d Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said. \u201cOur approach got to be better. We can\u2019t just look at their record and say, \u2018We\u2019ll whoop their ass.\u2019 We just got to be better altogether. Until we figure that part out, then it\u2019s going to be a long rollercoaster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brunson, who missed the previous game with a neck strain, scored just 17 points on 7-for-19 shooting overall, including 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. But he finally awoke in crunch time, dropping two of the night\u2019s biggest buckets \u2014 a go-ahead pull-up jumper with 2:20 remaining and another one less than a minute later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He and Karl-Anthony Towns could\u2019ve then put the win away, but they combined to miss three of four free throws in the final 10 seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So the Knicks (46-25) were lucky the Nets, who shot under 40 percent on the night, couldn\u2019t score. And they left with two winning streaks intact \u2014 five straight victories overall, and 14 consecutive against the Nets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jalen Brunson looks to pass during the Knicks\u2019 March 20, 2026 win over the Nets. Jason Szenes for the NY Post<\/p>\n
But it was ugly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJordi [Fern\u00e1ndez, the Nets coach] outcoached me,\u201d Mike Brown said. \u201cThey outplayed us in a lot of areas. And we were just able to find a way to get a win.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the Knicks, who\u2019ve had problems starting games, Friday night brought another discouraging first quarter. They managed a pitiful 14 points in that opening period and trailed by eight, saved only by Brooklyn\u2019s ineptitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Karl-Anthony Towns fights for possession during the Knicks\u2019 March 20 win over the Nets. Jason Szenes for the NY Post<\/p>\n
On Sunday night, Brown ranted about his team\u2019s lack of focus and energy immediately after tipoff. He was so upset after a nail-biting win over the short-handed Warriors that he stopped the tradition of awarding a defensive player of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the message didn\u2019t sink in for the crosstown game, and the Knicks seemed shocked by Brooklyn playing harder than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is probably the most physical they got with us,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cSo you can\u2019t take their record and say, this is an easy one. They\u2019re grown-ass men just like us. They\u2019re in the NBA just like us. So our approach got to be better and more respectful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It got feisty in the second quarter, when Robinson, clearly upset with a previous possession, stepped over Brooklyn\u2019s Nolan Traore under the basket. Robinson stood over Traore \u2014 a universal basketball sign of disrespect \u2014 and Brooklyn\u2019s Danny Wolf stepped in before all parties were separated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (L) and teammate New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson reacts during their teams game against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at the Barclays Center in New York, New York, USA, Friday, March 20, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Robinson was given a tech. So was Brooklyn\u2019s Ziaire Williams. Then in the third quarter, OG Anunoby and Nic Claxton were whistled for techs after a shoving exchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get physical back. That\u2019s how it\u2019s got to be,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cGot to stand on business about that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Nets are operating with a talent deficit and under a front office prioritizing ping-pong balls over victories. Still, the Nets played as if pride were at stake Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not only are the Knicks the crosstown rivals who entered Friday with a lengthy winning streak in head-to-head matchups, they also punked the Nets in a 54-point victory at the Garden in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last one when we played at the Garden, it was embarrassing,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s just a little bit of added extra motivation. And obviously I would like to say this isn\u2019t how we wanted the season to go in terms of wins and losses, but each game we\u2019ve got to prepare the same way. But obviously tonight there\u2019s definitely some extra motivation to try to get this one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Karl-Anthony Towns dunks the ball during the Knicks\u2019 March 20 win over the Nets. Jason Szenes for the NY Post<\/p>\n
Still, a tanking roster with tanking strategy can only hold off its destiny for so long. <\/p>\n
And, not coincidentally, the Nets had rookies, a 10-day contract and two two-way contract players on the court down the stretch when they gave up the game, like they usually do.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson and the Knicks were a misfiring mess all night, but apparently it\u2019s never too late to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,288,563,6,671,191,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-670117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-nets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-brooklynnets","12":"tag-jalen-brunson","13":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nets","16":"tag-new-york-knicks","17":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}