Knicks 99, Nets 95: "It's cold in Brooklyn."

Today at 10:21 PM

With an imperfect performance, New York holds off a feisty Brooklyn team for the third time this season.

The New York Knicks (29-16) beat the Hawks 119-110 yesterday in a highly physical game. A day later, they appeared at the Barclays Center to face the Brooklyn Nets (14-30). It's Rivals Week in the NBA, and New York had already beaten their crosstown rivals twice this season—and eight straight times. Would they make it nine?

Quoth Muruju: "It's cold in Brooklyn." That ain't meteorologist-speak, folks. New York had some ugly offensive stretches in this game, including the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter when they managed three points and missed nine of ten shots. Despite a 23-point, 10-assist double-double by Brooklyn's D'Angelo Russell and the Nets taking roughly twice as many free throws as the Knicks, our heroes eeked out an ugly win, 99-95.

Roll the tape.

First Half

New York outscored Brooklyn 15-5 before the home team reversed momentum and mounted a 15-4 stretch. From there, the two teams played neck-and-neck, finishing out the quarter with the Nets ahead 26-24. Each team made nine buckets in a quarter during which New York had zero backcourt assists. Credit Brooklyn's defense for that goose egg. Their Cam Johnson topped the scoresheet with seven points.

File this under absolutely not concerning in the slightest: Karl-Anthony Towns, nursing a sprained thumb, appeared to painfully jam the digit again. He was subbed out for Precious Achiuwa after seven minutes. Nope, the prospect of losing Karl for any significant stretch of time to an injury doesn't make our stomachs roil with nausea at all.

All told, Karl would conclude the game with 25 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, three steals, two blocks, and was a team high +16 in his 39 minutes. That's an All-Star, folks.

Once again, New York started the second quarter hot, with Precious Achiuwa contributing beasty, burly minutes while the visitors hammered the home team, 12-2. It helped that Brooklyn generously gave back the ball nine times in the first half, while New York committed five turnovers.

Towns and the other Knicks starters returned and proceeded to extend their lead to 13 . . . before allowing an 8-0 run and going scoreless for over three minutes. Double-teams bottled up Jalen Brunson, who uncharacteristically bricked his only two free throws and managed seven points and two dimes in the half. Jalen would end the game with 17 points and four assists in 39 minutes. Meanwhile, KAT airballed a longball and was promptly subbed out to get his thumb re-wrapped. Oy vey. . . .

Consistently look dominant? Our heroes did not, although they did improve late in the frame to take a 59-51 halftime lead. Despite the effed-up thumb, Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers so far with 14 points and eight rebounds and a +17 rating. Brooklyn's Cam Johnson and D'Angelo Russell had 12 points apiece, and would finish with 16 and 23 respectively.

Second Half

In a beauty pageant, the first half of New York's third quarter would be charitably called homely. Led by Russell, Brooklyn chipped at their deficit and slimmed it to four.

From there, New York mounted an 8-0 run, thanks in part to an energetic offensive showing by OG Anunoby. He would finish the night with 20 points, three steals, and a block in his 37 minutes. Thanks to his efforts, New York ended the quarter with an 84-75 advantage, but Russell was racking up the assists (10 overall tonight) and Brooklyn had won the glass (they finished ahead there, 47-42). Hence, the game was not yet in hand.

The defensive intensity picked up as the teams combined to shoot 0-of-8 to start the final frame. The Nets' Tyrese Martin and Cam Johnson teamed up to score eight unanswered. A 13-3 run gave Brooklyn a one-point lead with five minutes left.

New York shot missed nine of their first ten shots in the fourth, collecting just three points by the three-minute mark. Thanks to back-to-back buckets by Brunson, a strong Towns bucket, and Josh Hart rebounding, New York managed to claim a 97-95 lead with 23 seconds on the clock. After a timeout, Brooklyn's Johnson got a three-pointer off that bounced high off the rim and landed in Josh Hart's tireless embrace (he finished with 12 rebounds). The Nets fouled Brunson with seven ticks on the clock. Jalen had an imperfect night, but he delivered in the clutch and his two freebies iced the game.

Up Next

New York won't play again until Saturday, when the Sacramento Kings pay a visit. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score