NETS KINGS FOR A DAY!
Irving, Brooklyn hold off Knicks in Barclays thriller
There it was: Kyrie Irving vs. RJ Barrett with time expiring in the fourth quarter. Irving sized-up the rookie on the wing, his Nets down one after surrendering a 19point lead. The All-Star guard lulled Barrett to sleep then side-stepped for a three that sent Barclays Center into a frenzy.
“It’s the same shot he hit to win a championship against Golden State,” Barrett said after the game. “It’s tough. I was right there. There’s nothing else that you can do about that.”
Game, Brooklyn.
“A great player making a great shot,” Knicks head coach David Fizdale said.
“If I’m not shooting it down the stretch, then I don’t think I’m really living up to what I work every day to be able to accomplish,” Irving said post-game. “And that’s to make good plays, and if it’s my number to be called, to really put an impact on the game, then you’ve gotta shoot em.”
The Nets would have you believe their cross-town rivalry game against the Knicks was just another ordinary game, but that was far from the case, as his team refused to drop two in a row with a 113-109 win on Friday. And if the Knicks even flirted with the idea of acting like this game wasn’t important, they showed their hands at Barclays on Friday night.
“Giving out the Kyrie jerseys, that really helped out a lot,” Jarrett Allen joked after the game. “Just having everything thrown in the Knicks’ face like ‘ha-ha-ha.’ I think it had a little weight on their side plus we got the win, too.”
New York’s two basketball teams met for the first of four times this season, and the matchup did not disappoint. The game had everything fans of both teams wanted to see.
There was a shoving match between Bobby Portis and Taurean Prince, who came to Kyrie Irving’s aid after Portis tried to snatch a dead ball. Prince and Portis had to be separated and both were assessed technical fouls.
DeAndre Jordan and Marcus Morris got into it twice, once near the Knicks bench and again after Jordan forced a jump ball with rookie Barrett. Barrett responded with back-to-back poster dunk attempts on Jordan’s head, but missed both.
And Irving, fresh off a 50-point performance in the loss to the Timberwolves, attempted to snatch ankles off every defender in his path, though that has and may always be the norm. The All-Star guard, though, hit the clutch three in Barrett’s face after coming up short at the buzzer against the Wolves.
“I love this man,” Irving said after the game. “This is our home. This is our home.”
It was about time he got a big shot to drop.
For the Knicks, Allonzo Trier, Kevin Knox and Wayne Ellington were the surprise stars preventing a blowout across the bridge. Trier, who came off the bench after starting in the season opener, scored a team-high 22 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Knox provided cover fire, shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from three, and Ellington let loose with 3-of-4 shooting from deep, as well.
“I was just myself. I don’t think I did anything non-characteristic,” Trier said. “I was aggressive on defense, made some shots. That’s what I can do. That’s what I bring to the table.”
The Knicks showed just because they’re a team without a superstar doesn’t mean they’re not out to compete night-in and night-out. The Nets respected the roster the Knicks assembled over the summer, and their rival showed exactly why, clawing back from a near 20-point deficit.
“We just kept fighting,” Barrett said. “Like we said: We know we are underdogs, and we’re going to keep fighting. That’s what we did.”
Both teams will evolve over the course of this season, one with deep playoff aspirations, the other with the intention of improving on a franchise-worst record last season.
The Nets got the best of the Knicks this time, but one thing is clear. They were up for the challenge of protecting home court. And they had better be ready when they cross the bridge for the Nov. 24 rematch at Madison Square Garden.