If you closed your eyes during the Knicks-Nets game Tuesday night, you wouldn't have believed you were inside Barclays Center.
In another brutal fourth quarter flash, the Nets lost 108-103 to their in-city rivals, but somehow the loss was made even worse as a sold-out home building was turned into a road venue.
“When they ran away, you could hear it in the crowd and it felt like the away games were suspenseful,” Mikal Bridges said after the Nets suffered their 11th loss in their last 13 games. . “Yes, it looks better. They got some key buckets. We have to get through it. Even if they run away a little, they won't fall down and bow You can't. It's part of the game and you have to be able to execute and win after that.”
The Nets held an 85-76 lead into the third quarter, but were unable to gain ground in the fourth.
Julius Randle's 3-pointer with 2:19 left gave the Knicks a 101-100 lead and they never trailed again.
The Nets were outscored 32-18 in the fourth quarter and shot just 30 percent from the field.
“Let's go, Knicks,” chants echoed through the crowd as the Nets collapsed, dropping a winnable game in front of the Knicks and their fans.
It couldn't have been easy for Nets players and head coach Jacque Vaughn to witness scenes as infuriating as Yankees fans storming past Citi Field during the Subway Series.
“I think it's true for everyone here, but it's not fun when you feel like you're playing an away game at home,” Bridges said. “So it's for every person sitting here, every person alive.”
Bridges, in his second year in Brooklyn, is new to the rivalry in New York, especially against four former Villanova teammates: Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono. If you do, it may become even more painful.
Spencer Dinwiddie has been with the Nets for 22 of this rivalry's games during his nine-year career from 2016 to 2020, and the past two seasons after spending time with the Wizards and Mavericks. He is also enrolled in
The Nets went 9-13 in those games, so it was no surprise to Dinwiddie that Barclays Center was turned into MSG Brooklyn.
“You know, back then, when we were beating them all the time, I said this, as if they were still historic,” he said after the game. “The Knicks franchise is one of the oldest franchises, probably third outside of the Lakers and Celtics. So they'll travel well. And maybe because of Chicago. [Michael] Jordan.
“They're going to travel well. They're going to have a global presence. They're going to have all of that. Obviously, we're going to have a lot of things in the locker room to win these games. We feel like we have plenty of power and being a rivalry, we're going to put extra emphasis on that and the national video game. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring it out, but their fans It's no secret how big the base is. No one has ever questioned it.”
The two sides are scheduled to face off twice more this season at The Garden on March 23rd and April 12th.
Despite losing their second straight game, the Nets are still confident they can pick up and find a rhythm in the second half of the season.
“[Winning will] Help us all feel better,” Cam Johnson said. “It's a fist pump every time. You know, we're 17 to 26 years old. We briefly think about how many pieces should have been turned over,” he said. “There's a fine line between winning and losing in this league – a very fine line. And you don't want to get yourself wrong.
“Some teams are really successful in their ability to shut out games. And for some teams, maybe 85 percent of their problems come from not being able to close out games. So I We have put ourselves in the right position and need to find ourselves on the other side [in] Win 40 of these games. That's what it comes down to. ”
