The Nets have stolen the NBA’s imagination and even stolen Wednesday’s national television game against the Knicks.
Imagine when your entire super team, and not just Kevin Durant, shows up in the garden next time.
Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks couldn’t even defend Brooklyn Lite. The Nets became the Brooklyn Nine after making a four-team box office change to add a third superstar to James Harden, and they still rolled the Knicks, 116-109, into the empty field.
Of course, Durant was still on the track. In his first game against the Knicks since rejecting them as a free agent in July 2019, he scored 26 points in 30 minutes, 12 of them in the third quarter. Durant hit 10 of 18 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
“We want to finish the second half back to back, especially with a team that is right next to us,” Durant said. “And we know what this rivalry is like and we know the intensity with which this team plays. So we really wanted this game tonight and everyone played like that. ”
The garden was not completely empty. Knicks owner James Dolan, who is no longer sitting in his base seat next to the team bench during this pandemic season, saw the mess from the second row of level 100 on the center court . This one had to poke Dolan after seeing Durant’s pullers and seeing his club lose the fourth straight to fall to 5-7.
Although the offense had been the Achilles heel for the Knicks, this time it was the defense that brought down Thibodeau.
“Disappointed that we could have played better defensively, yes, but more determined to get it right,” Thibodeau said. “I like the fight we showed at the end, but it was too late. We went into a hole too big. We need to get back to work. Sometimes we go through sections where we don’t have the opportunity to practice too much, so I think the practice would be good for us. “
Harden will arrive soon, but the Nets were without Kyrie Irving (personal reasons) and the players who changed: Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Prince Taurean and Rodions Kurucs.
While the Nets have turned Brooklyn into a star paradise, Knicks striker Julius Randle continued to play as one. He attacked the Nets by 30 points and five assists, but it wasn’t enough. Slumping RJ Barrett, who didn’t have a field goal in the first half and missed his first six shots, came too late and finished with 20 points.
Durant scored a 15-2 final with a quick, quick elimination in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Nets a 61-45 lead at the break. He scored in the first possession of the match and was elegant in the garden with the white uniforms of the Nets.
Thibodeau is not surprised that Durant has not shown any descent since he recovered from the Achilles tendon injury.
“It’s going to outweigh everything in front of you,” Thibodeau said. “It’s a gym rat. He is a game creator. He is a great student of the game. And he has an incredible ability. And the undervalued part is his disinterest, his willingness to pass. He’s a great all-time, sure. So it doesn’t surprise me.
Knicks’ rookie, Maryland native Immanuel Quickley, seemed a little apprehensive during Durant.
“Probably the best basketball player I’ve ever played against,” said Quickley, who came out of his fall to score 19 points in 22 minutes on a brilliant Knicks point. “He shot me and it was like a video game. I was right there and he just drained everything. And I just went down to court when we were offended and he said to me, “Oh, God, it was crazy.” He’s a great player and he’s from Maryland, so I’m glad he’s getting on. “
The Nets, who had no clearance, played a clean game and committed only one turnover in the first half. Shooter Joe Harris scored 15 points, scoring three triples. Network guard Bruce Brown, with 15 points and 14 rebounds, looked much more effective and fast than Barrett. In a play, he overcame the Knicks defense to get a quick throw.
To make matters worse, the election of the second round of the Nets was called, the vanguard Reggie Perry, who scored 11 points in the 5 of 7 shot.
Perry, out of the state of Mississippi, was elected 57th in the November draft. The Knicks could have gotten pick number 33, but changed it to a complex deal for a second round in 2023 because they felt there was no room on the list.
At the end of 18, at 3:23 on the left and Durant on the pine, the Knicks made a late push to make the final score more competitive than it really was.