5 hours Ago
Knicks-Nets was billed as battle of the boroughs...
but there's only one team worth talking about in New York READ MORE: NBA player becomes latest sports star targeted by burglars By BEN NAGLE IN BROOKLYN Published: 22:19 EST, 21 January 2025 | Updated: 22:51 EST, 21 January 2025 e-mail View comments In four days' time, the Brooklyn Nets will raise a Vince Carter banner into the rafters of Barclays Center. A reminder of the halcyon days when this team won basketball games. This season that hasn't happened much, and Tuesday night's tight 99-95 loss to the rival Knicks was an agonizing demonstration of two New York teams heading in very different directions.
Although this one was close - arguably much more so than it should have been - in the end the Knicks' stepped up another rung on their ladder towards the playoffs. The Nets, meanwhile, have landed on a snake and are sliding towards the bottom, shedding talent in a bid for more draft capital in their battle for the No 1 pick. This latest losing night in Brooklyn also served as a reminder of what used to be for the Nets, with Mikal Bridges returning for the first time since his summer trade across the river.
He is the Nets' past, and a vital part of the Knicks' present and bright near-future. His first bucket of the night was cheered like it used to be inside this arena, but this time by half-empty stands mainly occupied by fans wearing the orange and blue of the so-called 'road' team. The Nets were perilous to stop Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks on Tuesday night It was an impressive night for the Knicks as they proved themselves to be kings of New York In his pregame press conference, Nets coach Jordi Fernandez referred to Bridges as 'the enemy', but in truth it was home fans that were few and far between, and in the third quarter chants of 'Brooklyn sucks' broke out in the crowd.
As far as starting fives in the NBA go, it doesn't get much better than the Knicks' offering. In Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, they have two legitimate superstars that could both start in the All-Star Game, and with Bridges, OJ Anunoby and Josh Hart alongside them, this team will compete with anyone in the east and beyond. In the first quarter, barring a few blunders, the Nets did manage to hold their own.
Cam Johnson started the game by avoiding all his teammates and tossing the ball straight into the chest of an assistant coach on the sidelines, and then followed it up with an airball that left jeers ringing around the arena. From there, though, he rallied and was a bright spark for a home team competing to the end in difficult circumstances. The legendary Vince Carter will have his No 15 jersey retired by the Nets this coming weekend Sydney Sweeney was among the celebrity spectators courtside at Barclays Center In Bridges' absence, Johnson has become the leader of this team, and a regular stand-out performer.
For that reason, all eyes are on him with two weeks left until the Trade Deadline. There is some chatter that the Nets would consider letting him go, but want at least two first-round picks as they continue to position themselves in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. After trading away Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith, Brooklyn have more than 30 draft picks in the next seven years, and that is only likely to improve in the coming weeks.
While the present is bleak, there is potential for a bright future with Fernandez as coach. Inside the Knicks' organization, though, it is all about the current crop. Win now, and win big.
Last season, they crashed out to the Pacers in the conference semi-finals, and this year nothing less than a championship will do. This performance was another reminder that it won't be plain sailing, and yet more proof that despite the big-money roster there will be scares on the horizon. Towns' 25-point night demonstrated that there is new talent on the team, and while the headlines were all about Bridges' return before the game, it was KAT - and some late Brunson heroics - on the fans' lips at the final buzzer.
The Knicks are in their championship window and praying for glory come the end of the season Nic Claxton dunks against the Knicks in front of a crowd filled with orange and blue With seconds left to go, the Nets were a Nic Claxton three-pointer away from a barely-believable win, but his miss spelled the end for Brooklyn's chances and the game was New York's. For the Nets organization, it won't matter too much - think of the bigger picture - but another L on the schedule is a demoralizing place to be for the fans right now. The narrow victory takes Tom Thibodeau's Knicks to 29-16 for the season, closing the gap on Cleveland and Boston ahead of them in the Eastern Conference.
The reality, though, is that the regular season is just the prelude for what's to come. It is May and beyond that matters. Here on Tuesday night, Sydney Sweeney was among the superstar guests at courtside.
And come the NBA Finals, the Knicks will desperately be hoping for some Euphoria of their own. Brooklyn Nets NBA New York Knicks Share or comment on this article: Knicks-Nets was billed as battle of the boroughs..
. but there's only one team worth talking about in New York e-mail Add comment.
