HOLDS ITS GRIP
Nets fight pesky Knicks, who fight refs, at end of wild win
If you still think the Knicks are the big-brother basketball franchise in New York City, cut yourself a slice of humble pie. Without three of their best players — Kevin Durant (hamstring), Spencer Dinwiddie (ACL) and Blake Griffin (conditioning) —the Nets made quick work of a Knicks team that is the best the franchise has been in years.
Or at least they thought it would be quick. Brooklyn’s 117-112 win over New York on Monday is a reminder the stars aligned on the other side of the Manhattan Bridge, and the Nets didn’t need all of those stars to shine bright in order to secure a rivalry win at home. But those wins don’t come easy.
The Nets built an 18-point lead in the second quarter, but the Knicks fought back and made it a single-possession game down the stretch. The team gritted out the win, but surrendered an 18-point lead instead of extending it out into the 20s.
“I’d say mixed (emotions) is appropriate. A win is a win. You found a way to win the game, did enough to win the game,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash postgame. “They cut the deficit at halftime. That can come back to bite you, but it didn’t. We got it done in the end, and we’ll just have to learn from it, take a look at a few of the scenarios and get better.”
Kyrie Irving was electric, and his name has turned into a verb. Knicks rookie Immanuel Quickley got “Kyried” when Irving crossed over then spun-off him for a high degree-of-difficulty jump shot he made look easy. The All-Star guard did it all night, finishing at the rim, in the mid-range or from deep for 34 points with only five misses on the night.
If the Knicks were going to have their best chance at winning on Monday, they needed to go into little brother mode. Even though Julius Randle made his first All-Star appearance this season, the Knicks don’t have the talent to go toe-to-toe with Irving and Harden in an allout shootout. The Knicks needed to defend for 48 minutes, get timely baskets, and stay within arm’s reach, not letting the game get out of control.
The Nets ran their lead up as high as 18 points in the second quarter, with the Knicks unable to stop Irving or Jeff Green, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the first quarter alone. The Knicks, though, stuck with it and chipped away at the lead, ultimately cutting it down to just a four-point game in the fourth quarter.
NETS KNICKS
They cut the deficit down as low as three with 7.7 seconds to go in the fourth quarter when the Knicks won a jump ball, which eventually led to a breakaway dunk for Randle.
“We just got relaxed. We had a number of times where we can put them away. We just didn’t make the right plays, or they made shots,” said James Harden, who finished with his 10th triple double in the 26 games he’s played since his trade to Brooklyn. “They’re a feisty team. They’ve got some shot-makers. Obviously we know how well Julius Randle’s been playing. But we had a lot of opportunities to make shots and go up 20 and we didn’t do it, and they came and knocked down a couple 3s, and then Quickley got it going. So give them credit. They made shots, they played well, but when it was time to close out the game, we did what was necessary to win.”
But it was Randle who was called for a travel on the very next possession. As he went up for a three that could have tied the game, Irving closed out and forced Randle to put the ball back on the ground. After the buzzer, Randle had to be restrained from approaching the referees who made the call and knocked chairs over on his way to the locker room.
“Yeah, he reached in and got a piece of the ball and yeah, he made a good play. Just took Randle out of his rhythm with the slap on the ball and we survived,” Nash said. “He got a piece of it on the way up, threw him off his rhythm, came down with it, I guess they called travel and we move on.”
Randle scored 31 points, Quickley got the start and finished with 21, Steve Nash’s godson RJ Barrett scored 23, and veteran forward Reggie Bullock made it rain with five made threes to the tune of 19 points.
That’s the thing about being the little brother: Sometimes you give it your all, and it’s still not enough.
Irving’s 34 points were equal parts dazzling and demoralizing to a defense unable to to do anything to stop him. Harden finished with 21 points, 15 points and 15 rebounds despite a poor 6-of-15 shooting night and is now just three triple doubles shy of eclipsing Jason Kidd’s franchise mark of 12 in a season. Despite the hot start, Green cooled off and finished with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Joe Harris also hit a triplet of threes for his 13 points on the night.
The Nets are a half-game behind the 76ers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have fallen down to 20-20 but remain the East’s seventh seed.
117 112
It was an ugly ending to an otherwise encouraging and scrappy effort from Julius Randle and the Knicks. Randle, who had led the Knicks to a comeback from 18 points down, had a chance to tie the game on the final possession, receiving the inbounds in the final seconds. But his 3-point attempt was hit on the way up by Kyrie Irving, and Randle came down with the ball for a travel call.
Fuming, Randle had to be physically restrained by teammates and staff from going after referee Scott Foster. Knicks executive Worldwide Wes even stepped on the court and pulled back his star player. They both retreated to the locker room with a 117112 defeat, with Kyrie Irving and James Harden getting the best of the borough battle.
“I was frustrated obviously. We fought so hard to try to come back and win the game,” Randle said after finally emerging for his Zoom interview nearly 40 minutes after the buzzer. “So I was just frustrated. And that was pretty much it.”
Randle struggled early and was spectacular in the second half, dropping 12 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter. But his final possession turned controversial, if only because of his reaction. Through a pool reporter, Foster clarified that Irving touched the ball and did not dislodge it from Randle, who clearly waited until his feet hit the court to drop the ball himself. Hence the travel.
Right or wrong, it’s hard to imagine the call changing the outcome of the game. Even if the referee called a jump ball, there wouldn’t have been much time left for the
Knicks to get possession and a final shot. Still, coach Tom Thibodeau backed his player.
“That’s what (the referees) said they saw,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t see it that way.” Steve Nash naturally saw it the Nets way. “(Irving) made a good play. Just took Randle out of his rhythm,” Nash said. “He came down with it and it was a travel.”
Randle said he was anticipating Irving to foul him right away.
“We had a play designed obviously and I thought Kyrie was going to come up and foul right away so I tried to go a little bit quicker,” Randle said. “But the play happened – whatever happened is what it is and it’s in the past.”
The Knicks appeared ready to roll over in the beginning. The Nets stormed out to a commanding lead, riding the wave of Irving (34 points, 13-for-18 shooting) and Harden (21 points, 15 assists, 15 rebounds). But the momentum shifted midway through the fourth quarter, when the Knicks cut their 12-point deficit to 3 with 10 seconds remaining.
That set up Randle’s big chance, and his furious exit off the court.
“It’s an emotional game. He calmed down right away,” Thibodeau said. “It was a hard-fought game by both teams. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. I thought Julius played a terrific game.”
The Knicks clearly wanted this victory against a crosstown rival that has snatched away stars and headlines. Their eagerness was personified by Worldwide Wes pacing behind the basket, animatedly furious after a foul call on Frank Ntilikina.
Two seasons ago, the Nets were the Knicks.
They were coming off two miserable seasons, bottom of the barrel stuff. They carried an inexperienced and underwhelming roster, littered with castaways and reclamation projects.
Then they shocked the projections. D’Angelo Russell went from bust to All-Star. Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie emerged as viable starters. The Nets lost in the first round to the Sixers that season, but suddenly the franchise could sell hope with its cap space. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden soon followed. Everybody else became expendable.
That’s the way of the NBA and the universe. Stars tend to cluster.
“It’s today’s modern NBA this is part of it. You can see players whether it’s through all-star games or team USA where they’re all talking to each other, this is what happens,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “When you get those type of players to commit to play with each other it makes it attractive for other players to want to go there.”
The Knicks, of course, had nothing to sell in the summer of 2019. We don’t need to rehash the Steve Mills/David Fizdale era. But now, at least, they have an identity, and they’re scrappy, and they can hang with the league’s elite until the final possession. hether this translates to freeagent stars or anything more than a spirited playoff push remains to be seen. Either way, the road isn’t easy. The Knicks are still a success story given the expectations, but breaking an eight-year playoff drought isn’t given. The schedule only gets tougher in the second half, and the Knicks, currently just 1 ½ games ahead of the 11th spot, haven’t beaten a team currently over .500 since Feb. 6 against the Blazers.
They came close Monday. But Irving disrupted their chance to tie, and Randle took it out on the refs.
W