Frank Franklin II/AP Photos
NEW YORK, NY- The Brooklyn Nets (42-38) stuns Madison Square Garden as they come back from down 21 points to defeat the New York Knicks (35-45) 110-98.
The game started off slow between both squads, however, the Nets went on a 9-2 run to go up 23-17 with 5:49 left in the first quarter.
The Knicks responded and closed out the first quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 29-25 lead over Brooklyn.
From the start of the second quarter, Taj Gibson made a 3-pointer, and the Knicks extended their run (19-0) to increase their lead to 13 points. A 3-pointer from Kyrie Irving broke the run and cut the Nets deficit.
Brooklyn tried to cut their deficit to single digits, however, the Knicks closed out the half with a 16-6 run. The Knicks entered halftime with a 67-50 lead over Brooklyn.
After halftime, the Knicks went cold and missed nine-straight shots. The Nets capitalized on those missed shots, and they cut their deficit to 13 points.
Alec Burks threw an alley-oop to Jericho Sims, and Sims completed the dunk to end the Knicks shooting slump. Sims then made a putback layup and a free-throw to give New York a 17-point lead.
In the final four minutes of the third quarter, the Nets went on a 12-2 run and the Knicks had an 82-72 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Nets wasted no time with their new momentum. Irving made a 3-pointer and Patty Mills followed with a 3-pointer of his own.
Irving then steals the ball and passes Kevin Durant the ball for the easy transition dunk. Kessler Edwards made a layup for Brooklyn and the Nets had an 85-84 lead over the Knicks.
The Knicks regained a lead but the Nets went on a 13-0 run to have a 107-96 lead over New York.
Durant Lights it up
Durant showed up when it really matters.
After a slow first-half for Durant, he scored 22 points in the second half. He finished the game with 32 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, while shooting 11-of-22 (50.0%) from the field and 2-of-10 (20.0%) from deep.
Irving followed with 24 points and eight rebounds while shooting 9-of-26 (34.6%) from the field and 3-of-12 (25.0%) from beyond the arc.
“I’m tired but it’s worth it,” Irving said. “Team effort, that’s team effort. It took resilience, it took teamwork, it took everything that we needed to win tonight.”
Knicks Fourth Quarter
It took the first three minutes of the fourth quarter for the Knicks to squander a 10-point lead over Brooklyn.
They struggled to score in the fourth quarter, as the Nets outscored the Knicks 38-16.
The Knicks didn’t look the same after a terrific start to the game. The Knicks shot 23-of-48 (47.9%) from the field and 11-of-26 (42.3%) from deep in the first half.
At the final buzzer, New York finished the game shooting 32-of-83 (38.6%) from the field and 13-of-38 (34.2%) from the three-point line.
Alec Burks was the Knicks leading scorer with 24 points.
Up Next
The Brooklyn Nets will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 8, 7:30 pm est.
The Washington Wizards will host the New York Knicks on April 8, 7 pm est.
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