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Josh Hart sparks Knicks as Nets unravel in fourth for 15th straight rivalry loss
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- Josh Hart sparks Knicks as Nets unravel in fourth for 15th straight rivalry loss
Josh Hart grabbed the rebound and took off.
Moritz Wagner smoked an open layup, leaving the Nets clinging to a one-point lead. Four seconds after Hart snatched the rebound, OG Anunoby's 3-pointer fell at the other end. Brooklyn was behind for good.
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A 79-75 Brooklyn lead entering the fourth quarter dissolved into a 103-90 loss Monday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks extended their winning streak against their crosstown rival to 15 games.
"We finally played fast, got stops," Hart said. "We've been playing very slow, very stagnant. We finally got out, we ran and we got good looks."
Hart finished with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals, helping the Knicks turn Brooklyn's mistakes into a 13-2 edge in fast-break points. Landry Shamet led the Knicks with 22 points, Jalen Brunson added 19 and Anunoby scored 18, including nine in the fourth.
For Brooklyn, a night that had teased a chance to build on Sunday's first win in Indiana ended with another lesson in persistence. The Nets (1-6) were outscored 28-11 in the fourth, shooting 3-for-16 and committing seven turnovers. Those giveaways produced 11 Knicks points, matching Brooklyn's entire output for the quarter.
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"I think we had some people that were in this play, we're trying to get into this action, and then some other people are doing something else," Mikel Brown Jr. said. "I really just think it's just miscommunication."
Hart made the confusion expensive.
After opening the quarter's scoring with a 3-pointer, he set up Anunoby's go-ahead triple and found him for another on the next trip. Brooklyn's four-point lead had become a five-point deficit.
A Hart pass then sent Tyler Kolek cutting to the rim for a layup. Hart intercepted Julius Randle's pass and scored in transition. Jordan Clarkson followed with a 3-pointer that made it 91-81 with 7:48 remaining, capping a 16-2 start to the quarter.
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Brunson watched that run from the bench. Mikal Bridges never got back into the game.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown kept searching for combinations that worked, and his reserves rewarded him. Kolek, unused through three quarters, played all of his 5:29 in the fourth. Clarkson scored five of his seven points in the period. Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for just three fourth-quarter points.
"I thought Tyler's minutes were tremendous," Mike Brown said. "He did a fantastic job running the team, getting us some easy looks."
Bridges finished with six points on 1-for-7 shooting in 16 minutes, exiting with 8:44 left in the third and never returning. Brown attributed the limited minutes in part to the play of Shamet and Clarkson.
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Shamet made 6-of-8 shots, including four 3-pointers, and all six free throws. Towns recovered from a scoreless first half to finish with 11 points and 16 rebounds as the Knicks improved to 3-4.
Brooklyn had spent the third quarter making the defending champions uncomfortable.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 18 points in the period, hitting three 3-pointers. Brown Jr., taking on more responsibility after Nolan Traoré picked up his fourth foul, attacked for consecutive layups that forced a Knicks timeout. Randle kept getting to the foul line.
The Nets scored 35 points in the quarter and closed it on a 19-6 run. For a team that had lost its first five games, a second win in as many nights was within reach.
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Then the offense stopped functioning.
Porter went scoreless on just two shots in the fourth. Brown Jr. missed all four of his attempts, each from beyond the arc, and finished with 13 points. Traoré scored 17 on 6-for-8 shooting, including 5-of-6 from deep, but Brooklyn's best individual performances couldn't hold the offense together.
Randle, warmly received during introductions at the arena where he spent five seasons, finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, six on the offensive glass. But he shot 5-for-16, missed all four of his 3s and committed three of his four turnovers in the final quarter.
"I think it's more about us not being organized," Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said. "And then if you have empty possessions, you don't run anything for anybody."
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Fernández took responsibility for helping the Nets handle a lead and rejected fatigue on the second night of a back-to-back as an excuse. Still, the coach saw progress in the effort and competitiveness of the past two games.
"Very good to play for seven quarters and we fail for one quarter, right?" Fernández said. "And if you see it this way, there's more good than bad."
The Nets last beat the Knicks on Jan. 28, 2023, when Kyrie Irving still wore a Brooklyn uniform. Their last win at the Garden came on April 6, 2022.
"Just understand the margins between winning and losing," Randle said. "It's close, so we got to figure out a way to put a whole 48 together."
