The Knicks (25*-18) assemble on their home court again, desperate to avoid a season-worst, fifth-straight loss. They couldn’t ask for a better opponent to right the ship. The Brooklyn Nets (12-29), mired
in a rebuild season, limp into the Garden having lost seven of their last eight games.
The Knicks’ four-game skid (as well as the one that came before it) has exposed familiar vulnerabilities on both sides of the ball. In Saturday’s 114-97 home loss to Dallas, the Knicks coughed up 17 turnovers and allowed one of the league’s worst three-ball teams to shoot 47% from beyond the arc. New York never led in a game against a shorthanded squad that ranks near the bottom of the Western Conference.
There’s always a silver lining. In this case, the Knicks are still loaded with the same talent that had some predicting them to go all the way this season. If they haven’t given up on coach Mike Brown or each other, this adversity might help to fortify their resolve, to make them stronger. A victory against an outclassed Nets squad could be the first step on New York’s road to redemption.
If they lose? Commence the firesale!
The Nets entered 2025–26 fully embracing a developmental season centered on their record haul of five first-round rookies—Egor Demin, Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf—after going 26–56 last year. As expected, the results have been rough: a 13th-place standing in the East following early slides of 0–7 and 1–11, with the team struggling equally at home (6–15) and away (6–13) while ranking near the bottom in scoring and net rating. Michael Porter Jr., acquired from Denver, has been their main offensive threat at 25.7 points per game, and Nic Claxton continues to anchor the middle with rebounding and playmaking, but the focus remains firmly on developing Demin—the 6’8″ guard viewed as the franchise’s future cornerstone—and the rest of Brooklyn’s young core.
The Knicks will have their full rotation available tonight, while Brooklyn’s depth could be tested. Haywood Highsmith is out with a knee injury, and Day’Ron Sharpe is listed as questionable with an illness.
The Knicks demolished Brooklyn 134-98 at the Garden in their first meeting, then cruised to a 113-100 road win on November 24 behind Karl-Anthony Towns’ 37-point, 12-rebound performance. That victory extended New York’s winning streak over Brooklyn to 12 consecutive games—the longest in the rivalry’s history.
Prediction
ESPN.com has the Knicks as heavy home favorites, picking them at almost 80%. That seems generous, given the recent fumbles and stumbles, but New York has good reason to be considered favorites. Brooklyn is a try-hard club under Jordi Fernández, but New York is the better team on paper and should be desperate for a win. Emphasis on should be. A win won’t drastically change minds about the state of the Knicks, but it will help. In an encouraging display of pride and talent, New York wins this one by a dozen.
Game Details
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
