Nets Unable to Get Even With Knicks, Drop Third Straight

In an attempt to avenge their heartbreaking loss to the New York Knicks this past Friday, the Brooklyn Nets looked like a shell of the team that nearly knocked off their cross-town rivals. They were completely dominated from start to finish, proving again the Nets cannot contain the league’s top big men.

Just like the previous meeting, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges spearheaded the Knicks’ offense. The only difference on Sunday evening was that Cam Thomas, who exploded for 27 points in the first half of Nov. 15’s loss, posted rather pedestrian numbers.

Brooklyn conceded a pair of runs, 7-0 and 11-2, respectively, but never found itself down more than 10 points through 24 minutes of action. The combined contributions of Cam Johnson and Jalen Wilson retained a manageable deficit for the Nets, but neither’s performance was enough to overcome New York’s wing duo.

Bridges, in the second-straight game against his former teammates, once again got out to a hot start on a vengeful quest. Every one of his 14 first-half points felt personal, and it didn’t help that the other half of the Knicks’ forward room was even better.

Either Bridges or Anunoby scored merely every time down the court, resulting in 18 points through just 20 minutes of action for the latter.

In his return, Karl Anthony-Towns added 12 points of his own, leaving Jalen Brunson as the odd man out.

Despite strong performances from New York’s biggest stars, Brooklyn’s grit made up for lackluster outputs from Thomas, Ben Simmons and Schröder, resulting in a three-point halftime hole.

As has been the case nearly every game this season, the Nets’ wheels began to fall off out of the break, although it wasn’t for a lack of effort. Without Nic Claxton in the lineup, Brooklyn had a mismatch on the court at all times.

In the third quarter, Towns played beneficiary.

He surpassed his first-half total with ease, adding another 14 points while dominating the Nets’ interior. Thomas finally began to look like himself, but without the support of Schröder and Simmons, Towns’ takeover continued draining the life out of Brooklyn. Up until the final stanza, it was all Knicks.

But that’s when the ‘Brooklyn Grit’ kicked back in.

Regardless of how poor of a performance they display, the new-look Nets can’t ever be truly counted out. While it may have come slightly late, Johnson and Finney-Smith attempted to lead the comeback charge, but the supporting cast couldn’t follow suit. Brooklyn withered the Knicks’ advantage to as little as eight, but the juggernaut hosts boast too much talent to surrender another large lead.

Come the final buzzer, the Nets had been completely outworked by New York, even if the final score didn’t reflect it. Maybe it was the presence of Towns or shortcomings from the starting five, but Brooklyn looked significantly less impressive than it had just 48 hours prior.

A couple of garbage time buckets from the Nets’ reserves made the final tally look slightly better, but the overall fell of the contest outweighed the scoreboard.

Now 5-9, Brooklyn returns home on Tuesday to take on the Philadelphia 76ers in its second NBA Cup appearance before traveling to Philadelphia on Friday for the third act of the annual in-season tournament.

To access the final box score from the Brooklyn Nets’ loss to the New York Knicks, click here.

Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.