Nets win 9th straight vs. Knicks
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving scored 21 of his 32 points in the final 91⁄2 minutes, carrying the Brooklyn Nets to their ninth straight victory over the New York Knicks, 122-115 on Saturday.
Irving’s sixth straight game of 30 or more points gave him a career high and the Nets an NBA franchise record. He didn’t seem headed that way when he was only 4 for 14 with 11 points early in the fourth quarter.
But he took over from there to make sure the Nets turned away every Knicks rally, including a deep 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play after New York was within five. The All-Star guard also had nine assists and six rebounds.
Joe Harris added 16 points and Nic Claxton had 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Nets. The NBA leader in field goal percentage shot 6 for 6. Royce O’Neale and Seth
Curry chipped in 14 points apiece.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and RJ Barrett had 24 for the Knicks. They had won consecutive games against Eastern Conference contenders Cleveland and Boston.
But they can’t find a way to beat Brooklyn. The teams separated by about five miles made for a natural addition to the NBA’s “Rivals Week” schedule, now a decade since the Nets played their first season in Brooklyn following their move from New Jersey.
Problem is, the only rivalry in New York is a one-sided one. The Knicks haven’t defeated the Nets in Tom Thibodeau’s 2/12 seasons and their last victory was on Jan. 26, 2020, when Kevin Durant still wasn’t playing for the Nets and Irving left Madison Square Garden after learning of Kobe Bryant’s death that afternoon.
76ers 126, Nuggets 119: Joel Embiid won the battle of MVP candidates with 47 points and 18 rebounds as Philadelphia extended its winning streak to seven games with a win over Nikola Jokic and Denver. Jokic and Embiid have finished first and second in voting for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award over the last two seasons. Both are among the top candidates for MVP as this season hits the halfway mark. James Harden had 17 points and 13 assists, and Tobias Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half after being shut down by Denver’s defense in the first half. Jokic had 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Denver, which has lost three of its last four games. Jamal Murray chipped in 22 points and Michael Porter added 20.