The Knicks picked up their 12th consecutive win over the Nets, 113-110, on Monday night at Barclays Center.
Here are some takeaways…
– Mike Brown turned to a smaller lineup with Mitchell Robinson (illness) and OG Anunoby (hamstring) sidelined, as Josh Hart received his first start of the season alongside Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
– That group got off to an extremely sloppy start on both ends of the floor. The Knicks shot 4-of-14 from the field over the opening few minutes and continued giving up open looks from downtown, allowing Brooklyn to hold a slim two-point advantage when the first quarter came to a close (26-24).
Noah Clowney got off to a strong start for the Nets, leading the team with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
– New York’s second unit of Hart, Towns, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, and Ariel Hukporti got them going early in the second. Even with Brunson resting on the bench they were able to put together a commanding 11-0 run to open their largest lead of the first half, at the time (eight).
The Knicks looked like they were ready to put this one away as they pushed the advantage out to as many as a dozen, but Brooklyn answered back with a late first half surge, and they were able to cut it all the way back down to a one possession game heading into the break (51-48).
Both teams shot a combined 25 percent from behind the arc over the first two quarters (NY 3/14, BKN 7/26).
– Things were back-and-forth coming out of the break before the Knicks took over and opened a comfortable double-digit advantage that they never looked back from. New York scored a game-high 38 points in the third quarter while shooting 64 percent from the field, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc.
– Towns led the way in perhaps his best offensive showing of the season, finishing with 37 points on 14-of-20 shooting (just 3-of-4 from three) while reeling in 12 rebounds and dishing three assists. The big man did have a bit of a scare after falling hard on his hip on a drive to the basket early in the fourth, but he returned to the court after a timeout.
Brunson had 27 points, Bridges chipped in 16 points, and Hart did it all (seven points, 12 rebounds, seven assists).
– Jordi Fernandez‘s young and hungry squad showed much more fight this time compared to the last meeting. Clowney finished with a career-high 31 points on the night including seven threes, Drake Powell pitched in 15 on 5-of-10 shooting, and big man Nic Claxton had eight points.
New York picked up their second road win of the season in seven tries.
Game MVP: Karl-Anthony Towns
The big man dominated the paint all night, finishing with a game-high 37 points.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks close their road trip with an NBA Cup matchup with the Hornets on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
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