D’Lo: We expect to top Knicks

Spencer Dinwiddie, who boasted the Nets are better than the Knicks, nearly saw his mouth write a check his behind couldn’t cash. But after the Nets pulled the game out at the end, D’Angelo Russell called it a game his team is expected to win.

“Get the wins you’re supposed to win,” Russell said. “I think this is a team that they’ve been winning over the years against us, this year is a new year. We consider them a team we’re supposed to beat.”

Jarrett Allen, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds, has been regularly beaten up by Knicks center Enes Kanter. But on Friday, the Nets hammered their rivals on the boards.

“We’re literally 30 minutes from each other, a couple train stops from each other. We’re definitely fighting to win against them,” Allen said. “Last year they kicked our butts and [we] didn’t win one time. We tried to prove a point in this first game: We’re here to play.”

After downplaying the mental hurdle the Knicks posed beforehand, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson admitted it was a breakthrough against not only a rival, but a team that had their number in the past.

“That was tough last year taking four on the chin from them, we ended up losing four and none of us liked it,” Atkinson said. “I think those are the things in the summer that you think about, and it motivates you to work a little harder.”

Allen Crabbe wasn’t in the Nets’ starting lineup against the Knicks. But he was back on the court, and had five points in 18:16 on 1-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Atkinson was unsure if starting forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who missed Friday’s game after the birth of his son, will join the team in Indianapolis.