Brunson had a basket and 3-pointer that started a 13-3 finish to the period for the Knicks, with his 3 making it 93-83. “And he’s someone who should be an All-Star and he’s playing at an All-Star level.”īrunson turned the game in the Knicks’ favor for good after it was tied at 80 late in the third quarter. “Obviously seeing him play in college and he was amazing and I knew he would have a long career in the NBA, but I didn’t think it was going to be how he’s playing now,” said Hart, Brunson’s teammate at Villanova. 26, 2020.īrunson scored 17 in the decisive third quarter on his way to his third 40-point game of the season after never having one in the regular season during his first four years with Dallas. Irving was injured for one Knicks victory, then left Madison Square Garden after learning of Kobe Bryant’s death before the most recent one on Jan. The Knicks beat the Nets twice in the 2019-20 season, which Durant missed while recovering from Achilles tendon surgery. “And it’s something we’re going to work on and stress as a group.” “That was the overall challenge, just to be able to put the ball in the basket,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. Cam Johnson had 14, but Mikal Bridges, who came with him from Phoenix in the Durant trade, was 2 of 8 for seven points. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points for the Nets, who showed again how much of a struggle scoring could be after trading their two All-Stars last week. The top six teams are guaranteed playoff spots. The seventh-place Knicks pulled within two games of the Nets for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They’ve been really good the past couple of years and they were great tonight,” Brunson said, “but I think we just had the upper hand in the second half and we kind of just turned it up a little bit and came away with a win.” Brooklyn never lost to the Knicks when Durant or Irving played.

Julius Randle had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who beat the Nets for the first time in three years.

Knicks score