THE Knicks won its 12th consecutive victory against the Nets113-110, Monday night at Barclays Center.
Here are some points to remember…
– Mike Brown turned to smaller programming with Mitchell Robinson (disease) and OG Anunoby (hamstrings) sidelined, as Josh Hart obtained his first start of the season alongside Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Mikal BridgesAnd Cities of Karl-Anthony.
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– This group got off to an extremely sloppy start on both ends of the court. The Knicks shot 4 of 14 from the field in the opening minutes and continued to give up open looks from downtown, allowing Brooklyn to hold a slim two-point advantage at the end of the first quarter (26-24).
Noah Clowney got off to a strong start for the Nets, leading the team with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
– New York’s second unit, Hart, Towns, Tyler Kolek, Jordan ClarksonAnd Ariel Hukporti got them going early in the second. Even with Brunson resting on the bench, they managed to put together an impressive 11-0 run to open their largest lead of the first half, at the time (eight).
The Knicks looked ready to put this one away as they pushed the advantage to a dozen, but Brooklyn responded with a surge late in the first half, and they managed to cut it down to a one-possession play before the break (51-48).
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Both teams shot a combined 25 percent from behind the arc in the first two quarters (NY 3/14, BKN 7/26).
– Things went back and forth coming out of the break before the Knicks took over and opened up a comfortable double-digit advantage from which they never looked back. New York scored a game-high 38 points in the third quarter while shooting 64 percent from the field, including 5 of 9 from behind the arc.
– Towns led the way with perhaps his best offensive performance of the season, finishing with 37 points on 14-of-20 shooting (just 3-of-4 from three), while grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out three assists. The big man had a bit of a scare after falling hard on his hip during a drive to the basket early in the fourth, but returned to the court after a timeout.
Brunson had 27 points, Bridges had 16 and Hart did it all (seven points, 12 rebounds, seven assists).
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– Jordi FernándezThe young and hungry team showed a lot more fight this time compared to the last meeting. Clowney finished the night with a career-high 31 points, including seven threes, Drake Powell thrown in 15 on 5 out of 10 shots, and big man Nicholas Claxton had eight points.
New York earned its second road win of the season in seven tries.
Game MVP: Karl-Anthony Towns
The big man dominated the paint all night, finishing with a game-high 37 points.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks close out their road trip with an NBA Cup game against the Hornets on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
