With one dramatic shot Friday night, Jalen Brunson might have delivered a potentially season-defining moment for the New York Knicks — and reminded the Brooklyn Nets how far they’ve already come in their rebuilding project.
Brunson and the Knicks will look to build off Friday’s last-second win on Sunday night, when they host the Nets in another clash of the local rivals.
It’s the second straight game between the clubs, who were off Saturday after Brunson sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left to lift the Knicks past the visiting Nets 124-122 in NBA Cup Group A action.
Brunson’s timely shot allowed the Knicks to improve to 2-0 in Group A play and helped them avoid a second straight disappointing defeat. New York overcame a 22-point third-period deficit Wednesday but fell to the Chicago Bulls 124-123 when Brunson’s shot rimmed out at the buzzer.
On Friday, the Knicks squandered a 21-point third-period lead and fell behind for the first time since the first quarter when Dennis Schroder drained a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation.
Following a timeout, Brunson took an in-bounds pass from Mikal Bridges and sized up Dorian Finney-Smith for a few seconds before hoisting a jumper that got nothing but net.
The Nets, who were out of timeouts, raced up the court, but Schroder’s layup was blocked by Bridges. Ariel Hukporti cradled the rebound as time expired.
With the win, the Knicks — who were expected to challenge for the NBA title after adding Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns during the summer — evened their record at 6-6 and avoided falling two games under .500 for the first time since November 2023.
“That is the nature of this league,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We had the emotion of that last game and that disappointment. And then to bounce back like we did tonight — to find a way at the end speaks volumes to who (Brunson) is, to have that resolve to take that shot and make that shot.”
Brunson’s dramatics cost the rebuilding Nets a chance at a statement win in their Group A opener.
Brooklyn telegraphed its intentions to rebuild by dealing Bridges to the Knicks in July for a package that included seven draft picks. But the Nets (5-8), who entered Saturday among the 10 teams in the Eastern Conference within three games of the third-seeded Orlando Magic, have exceeded expectations under first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez.
The Nets have lost four of their last five but have held fourth-quarter leads in that stretch against the Knicks as well as the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics and the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics earned a 108-104 overtime win on Nov. 8 before the Cavaliers outlasted Brooklyn 105-100 the next night.
The Nets’ lone recent lopsided defeat was a 139-114 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday in which Fernandez criticized his team’s effort and response. But Fernandez found encouragement in Brooklyn’s furious fourth-quarter rally Friday, when it outscored the Knicks 40-24.
“They stayed together right there,” Fernandez said, “That’s a sign of, when you hear that from your players, it’s like, OK, we’re going to get there. And to see it at that point, (a) 40-point quarter, took the lead, it’s pretty impressive.”
