When New York (10-6) and Brooklyn (3-14) squared off earlier this month, the Knicks roasted their little borough brothers by 36 in a wire-to-wire win. Tonight’s rematch, this time at Barclays, had a less
auspicious start. The short-handed Knicks played from behind through most of the first two periods, but managed to take a 51-48 advantage into intermission. After the breather, New York built up a 17-point lead in the third, ratcheted up their defense, and coasted to a 113-100 win.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored his second-highest total of the season, finishing with 37 points, 12 boards, two blocks, and a steal in 33 minutes. Jalen Brunson recorded 27 points on 10-of-19 from the field, and Mikal Bridges posted 16 points and two more steals. The Knicks were down three rotational players, so Josh Hart was in the starting lineup and finished with 12 boards, seven points and assists, two steals and blocks, and a +17 plus/minus.
Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson contributed 12 points in 20 minutes, and Tyler Kolek had a nice showing—just two points, but five shiny dimes.
Brooklyn’s Noah Clowney came into tonight shooting 30% from three and averaging 11 points per game. Of course, he scored a career-high 31 points and made 7-of-13 from downtown. . . Players get up for Knicks games, man.
Michael Porter, Jr. also wore a Brooklyn jersey tonight.
First Half
The Knicks opened the quarter with Towns scoring inside, which softened the blow of Brunson missing four of his first five shots.
Brooklyn quickly answered with contributions from Porter and Claxton. Mann and Clowney hit early threes, too, helping to undue New York’s early lead. Midway through the quarter, Brunson heated up with a pair of deep threes, and Josh Hart added one, but Brooklyn stayed ahead thanks to Porter and Clowney’s shooting, and Tyrese Martin’s providing energy off the bench.
With New York missing three rotation players (OG Anunoby, ankle; Landry Shamet, shoulder; Mitchell Robinson, illness), Mike Brown dusted off Ariel Hukporti and gave Guerschon Yabusele extended minutes. Don’t get excited, neither did anything of note. Also quiet: Miles McBride, starting at shooting guard and still recovering from an illness. This was tasty, though.
The Knicks shot efficiently (48% from the field, 43% from three) and held an edge in the paint, but the Nets controlled the glass and the quarter, 26-24.
To start Q2, New York missed opportunities to capitalize on Brooklyn’s misses. The Knicks shook off their lethargy, thanks to a nice Tyler Kolek drive, a Josh Hart midrange bucket, and a steady stream of inside scoring from KAT. The big fella piled up points at the rim and went 3-for-3 at the line to build up a 12-point lead. Brooklyn answered with Porter’s three, Egor Demin’s pull-up from deep, and a Claxton jumper. The Knicks escaped the half with a 51–48 lead.
Through the first half, the Knicks shot 49% from the field and dominated the paint 28–8, while also winning the assist, block, and turnover stats. Brooklyn stayed close, despite making 7-of-26 from deep. They generated extra chances on the glass with eight offensive rebounds, and they took 17 free throws to New York’s six. This writer’s mood: unenthused.
Second Half
Coming out of intermission, Brooklyn briefly went ahead by one, but New York was off and running. Our heroes ripped off a 12–2 stretch, then kept building behind solid bench minutes and a burst of perimeter offense from McBride, Yabusele, and Bridges. Brooklyn got scattered scores from Porter and Powell, but the Knicks consistently beat them to the cup, the glass, and the three-point arc. By quarter’s end, a Powell triple trimmed the Knicks’ lead to 89–75.
Enjoy this Kolek-KAT konnection:
Midway through the fourth quarter, KAT flew to the rim and came down painfully on his hip. He writhed around, but managed to power through, shooting a free throw and following that with another triple. Soon after, with the Knicks’ lead reaching 19, he retired to the locker room.
New York’s defense tightened up in the second half, turning deflections and steals into points on the other end. Clowney kept scoring, but found little support among his teammates. At the two-and-a-half-minute mark, Brunson was able to sub out, and gah-bahge commenced.
Up Next
New York travels to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Wednesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
