With local schools Hofstra and LIU falling short, the metropolitan tri-state area had one more chance to witness a March hardwood upset on Friday night. The New York Knicks, however, were hardly willing to oblige.

Karl-Anthony Towns put up yet another double-double in the latest metropolitan basketball civil war, as that and classic clutch antics from Jalen Brunson allowed the Knicks to escape from New York with a 93-92 victory at Barclays Center.

On a night when he was listed as questionable to play due to personal reasons (and Josh Hart sat out), Towns tallied 26 points and 15 rebounds, picking up the offensive slack with OG Anunoby (16 points, 6-of-7 from two-point range) on a night when Brunson struggled from the field.

The reigning Clutch Player of the Year nonetheless turned up when the Knicks needed him most, hitting a pair of clutch doubles on consecutive possessions that gave New York a slim yet lasting lead.

The win was not only the Knicks’ fifth in a row, but it was also the 500th in the coaching career of Manhattan boss Mike Brown. The Knicks (46-25) also secured their 14th consecutive victory in the series against their cross-borough rivals, sweeping the yearly season set for the third year in a row.

This latest victory, however, was far from easy as the Nets gave the Knicks all they could handle: Brooklyn set a sloppy, yet effective, tone with a 22-14 lead after the opening period, one where the Knicks lost nine turnovers in yet another tepid opener. The Knicks would up losing 22 turnovers, a season-worst tally that yielded 23 points.

New York could perhaps at least take solace in Mikal Bridges scoring half their points, but the former Brooklyn franchise face had only two more the rest of the way. Towns managed to keep the Knicks in the game with his physicality (hitting each of his first 11 free throw attempts, including 7-of-7 over the first 24), but the Nets still held a six-point advantage at the break.

The Knicks finally found a bit of a groove in the third quarter: despite losing an early lead brought about by a 7-0 over the first 85 seconds (capped off by a Towns three), New York was energized by four two-handed slams from Anunoby, as well as Brunson foreshadowing that saw him hit 3-of-6 tries and dish out four assists, allowing him to contribute to 16 of the 31 period points.

Beginning with a Jordan Clarkson three off a feed from Brunson, the Knicks scored the last 11 points of the third to build a double-figure lead, one that stood at 14 early in the fourth.

That figured to be enough to finally put away the pesky Nets, but the hosts would go on to score the next 17, the run kick-started by a trio of triples from Josh Minott. Ochai Agbaji’s dunk off a long toss from Minott gave the Nets the lead back before Nolan Traore’s free throws raised it to three with 3:13 left.

Brunson, however, rewarded the faith of an invading Knicks contingent in the stands as his jumpers put Manhattan back ahead. The captain would then find a streaking Towns for a dunk after a Minott miss, seemingly sealing the deal at five with 1:04 remaining.

But the Nets still weren’t done with their scare, as Traore sandwiched an uncontested layup and a fateful three with Brunson going half on a two-shot foul line trip. Brooklyn had a chance to win outright when Towns missed his 12th and 13th free throw attempts but it failed to get any sort of meaningful counter off in two possessions in the final two seconds, allowing the Knicks to continue their monopoly.

Minott led the way with 22 points earned primarily on six three-pointers. Long-removed from the playoff picture, the Nets dropped their sixth in a row and 16th over the last 18. Friday may have been a costly victory for the Knicks, as fill-in starter Landry Shamet did not partake in the final stages due to a knee injury (he was labeled questionable to return).

The Knicks head back to Manhattan for their next game, facing the equally woebegone Washington Wizards on Sunday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).