The margins of victory are varied, but in recent years the result is the same when the New York Knicks face the Brooklyn Nets.
Attempting to inch toward second place in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks seek a 14th straight win in the series Friday night when they visit the Nets.
The Knicks are unbeaten against the Nets since a seven-point loss on Jan. 28, 2023 capped Brooklyn’s own nine-game winning streak in the series.
Eight of New York’s victories in the current streak are by double digits. The Knicks shot over 50% in six of the wins, including the past three. New York shot 57.5% in its 120-66 home rout of the Nets on Jan. 21 and 53.9% in a 134-98 rout on Nov. 9.
Entering this matchup, the Knicks are 1 1/2 games behind the second-place Boston Celtics and 2 1/2 ahead of the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
Winners of four straight, they eked out a 110-107 win over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Sunday, then pulled away in the second half for a 136-110 home win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
The Knicks held Jalen Brunson (ankle/neck) for injury management purposes Tuesday but still scored at least 130 for the 16th time this season. New York improved to 20-4 when shooting at least 50% thanks to Josh Hart scoring 33 on 12-of-13 shooting.
Hart’s big game was supported by 26 points from OG Anunoby and a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns.
“It was special,” Towns said. “It’s a game, obviously, we’re missing JB. We all understood the importance of picking up the slack, and I thought all of us in this locker room, particularly Josh, did a great job of playing team basketball. It was great for all of us. Obviously, one person’s not going to replace Jalen, but we all can collectively come together and try to play better basketball for each other with his absence.”
Brunson is slated to play against Brooklyn.
The Nets played their last four games without leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., who was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain on Thursday and will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks. It is possible Porter is done for the season. He’s averaging a career-best 24.2 points in 52 games.
Brooklyn is on a five-game losing streak and 2-15 in its past 17 games. Brooklyn’s last three losses saw them fall behind early before making attempts to make the final score somewhat respectable.
On Saturday, the Nets trailed by 28 before taking a 104-97 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers. On Monday, Brooklyn allowed the first 10 points, trailed by 31 in the third quarter and took a 114-95 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
On Wednesday, Brooklyn scored 24 points in the first half and faced a 42-point deficit in the third before ending up with a 121-92 loss to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.
“You feel embarrassed when you score 24 points in a half of basketball,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “And I do believe, no doubt in my mind, that our guys are better than this. But it’s not about what you believe.”
In recent games, Fernandez has made liberal use of his roster. Against the Thunder, 14 players saw action while the Nets shot 36.7% and committed 23 turnovers.
