Knicks Defense Buries Brooklyn with 121-102 victory
The New York Knicks returned to Gotham in style, capping off what’s tied for their longest road trip of the season with a 121-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Wednesday night. A wire-to-wire victory over their cross-borough rivals allowed the Knicks (16-11) to move back to a season-best five games over .500 and end a five-game road trip with a winning mark (3-2).
Julius Randle put in 26 in the win while Donte DiVincenzo hit 23 on 9-of-15 shooting. Immanuel Quickley had 19 points in relief (a total primarily built on 4-of-6 from three-point range) while Josh Hart had a 12-rebound, 10-point double-double.
Though offensive endeavors took center stage, the travel-weary Knicks will likely value their defensive performance the most: despite missing both Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims in the interior, the Knicks outrebounded Brooklyn and forced it into a dreary shooting night, limiting them to 36 percent shooting and forcing 11 turnovers. Nets star Mikal Bridges, facing his fellow former Villanova Wildcats Brunson and DiVincenzo, shot a brutal 4-of-21 from the field.
Isaiah Hartenstein, in the starting five for the first time this season in place of Robinson and Sims, briefly left the game after he was hit in the mouth but pulled in 10 of the Knicks’ 54 rebounds in the win. DiVincenzo had eight of his own from the backcourt, best on Brooklyn only by Day’Ron Sharpe (15).
As for Wednesday’s hosts, the Nets (13-14) have now dropped five of six and continue to sink down the early Eastern leaderboard. Dual 20-point performances for Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson weren’t enough to keep Brooklyn in the game, and their next chance for revenge lands on Jan. 23 when the Knicks come back to Barclays.
The Knicks will finally be back at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon, as the first half of a formidable Christmas weekend doubleheader against the Milwaukee Bucks will be there to welcome them (12:30 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).