In a meeting of cross-town rivals, the Knicks hung on to beat the Brooklyn Networks 124-122 in the second NBA Cup Group Play game by both teams on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are some takeaways…
– The Knicks already played without some of their key pieces early this season and they were even more short-handed this one, like a star center. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) and a sixth man Miles McBride (illness) were ruled out after trying to get through pre-match warm-ups.
– Even with their leading scorer sidelined, the Knicks were able to get off to a hot start offensively, as all five starters found their way to the mat and they knocked down six of their first nine shots. New York spread the ball around well and they took advantage of the smaller Nets lineup, recording 16 points in the paint in the opening frame.
The Knicks pushed the lead to as many as six, but Brooklyn’s leading scorer Cam Thomas did everything he could to keep things close, knocking down all seven shots he took including a stretch of five consecutive three pointers to finish with 18 first quarter points.
– With Jericho Sims entering the starting line-up instead of Cities, Tom Thibodeau was forced to slightly expand his rotation and he leaned on the rookie trio of Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukportiand Pacome Dadiet play next to Josh Hart and Cam Payne in the second unit.
While they’ve had limited opportunities so far this season, Hukporti and Dadiet stepped up on both ends of the floor to help the Knicks push their lead throughout the second. The dynamic young duo combined to record seven points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal as they closed out the first half strong.
– Thomas again held the Nets in this early in the third quarter, when the Knicks finally started to pull away, because Mikal Bridges knocked down a couple of buckets and then connected with AND Anunoby for an alley to push the lead all the way to as much as 21.
– As has been the case all season, though, the Knicks have struggled to put things away. The Nets refused to go down quietly as they opened the fourth with a big run of their own and drilled five threes in the fourth to cut the deficit back to single digits.
Brooklyn took the lead on a Dennis Schroder three with 12 seconds left, but Jalen Brunson answered right back with a jumper of his own, and then Bridges came up with a massive block down the other end at the buzzer to secure the thrilling win.
Bridges was terrific all night in his first meeting with his former team, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and the game-sealing block. Brunson drilled clutch bucket after clutch bucket down the stretch to put together a 37-point showing on 12-of-20 shooting.
Josh Hart finished a rebound and an assist shy of a triple-double (12-9-9) and Hukporti stepped up with seven points, four rebounds and three assists. Cam Thomas was huge for Brooklyn, putting together its second straight 40-point showing at The Garden (43), but it ultimately wasn’t enough.
Game MVP: Mikal Bridges
It was an all-around strong effort for the Knicks in this one, but Bridges enjoyed one of his best offensive displays of the season facing his former team.
highlights
Upcoming schedule
These cross-town rivals will face off again in a regular season matchup this time on Sunday at 7:00 pm at The Garden.
