After getting punched in the mouth in a 133-121 loss to the Orlando Magic, the New York Knicks head back home, just not to their home floor. Instead, they’ll take the short trip across the river to Brooklyn, stepping into Barclays Center for the first time this season.
New York enters at 9-6 after a bumpy 1-2 road set, trying to get back in the win column against a Nets team that’s searching for anything resembling momentum and hope.
Brooklyn, now 3-13, returns from a 119-109 loss in Toronto on Sunday and will be playing the second half of a back-to-back. It’s a rivalry game by geography, but both sides are fighting very different battles right now. New York is looking to break through and take home their first NBA title since 1973, while Brooklyn is in full rebuild mode after they selected five rookies in the first round of June’s NBA draft, something that an organization had never done in league history.
Last time the two teams met, it was a blowout win for the Knicks, 134-98 at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks’ grit and fight got the job done against Jordi Fernandez’s squad last time out, highlighted by nine steals and a dominant showing on the glass.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double with 28 points for the Knickerbockers, while Mitchell Robinson added eight rebounds in just 16 minutes.
New York was too much for Brooklyn to handle in every facet of the game, leaving the Nets outmatched from start to finish.
Injury Report
Knicks:
- OUT – G Landry Shamet (shoulder)
- OUT – SF OG Anunoby (hamstring)
Nets:
- OUT – F Haywood Highsmith (knee)
- OUT – G Ben Saraf (ankle)
- OUT – G Cam Thomas (hamstring)
