Are you ready for some basketball … a Gotham night party?
The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are set to renew metropolitan pleasantries on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Thus begins the latest edition of the tri-state square-off that officially began with the Nets’ NBA entry in 1976.
The Knicks saw their momentum somewhat stifled in their last game on Friday night, as they fell to the Philadelphia 76ers by a 98-93 final at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Half of their four losses have come at the hands of the new-look Sixers, who enjoyed a 27-point output from Tyrese Maxey and 20 more from LeBron James. The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Knicks, who enjoyed consecutive victories over Detroit and Chicago last Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Jalen Brunson scored 24 points for the Knicks, albeit on 8-of-22 from the field, while Karl-Anthony Towns had another double-double with 22 and 12 boards. Towns is just the sixth Knick to post a double-double in his first six games of a season next to Walt Bellamy, Willis Reed, Charles Oakley, Zach Randolph, and Patrick Ewing.
Brooklyn is coming off a back-to-back, having just spent Sunday in Indianapolis. The Nets took a 98-90 decision from the Indiana Pacers after Michael Porter Jr. earned 23 points and fell a rebound short of a double-double. It was good for Brooklyn’s first win of the 2026-27 season, needing six tries to reach that elusive triumph.
This will be the first of four annual meetings between the Knicks and Nets this season, with part two schedule for Dec. 27 at MSG. The Knicks have won 14 in a row against their Brooklyn brothers, including each part of last year’s quartet. The most recent entry was a 93-92 victory in Brooklyn on March 20, which saw Towns put up 26 points and 16 boards.
Entering this season, the Knicks’ 14-game winning streak against the Nets was the second-longest active tally a team had against a singular opponent. Last season’s other meetings were not close, as the Knicks won that trio by a combined 103 points. The last meeting at MSG, a 120-66 shellacking on Jan. 21, served as the unofficial turning point of the Knicks’ championship trek: the largest margin of victory in Knicks history not only served as the end of a 2-9 mid-winter output but gave way to a 44-14 mark the rest of the way, including playoffs.
What to Know
What: Brooklyn Nets (1-5) @ New York Knicks (2-4)
Where: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NY
When: Monday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/DAZN
Who’s Favored: NYK —14.5 (o/u: 219.5)
Keep An Eye On: Tyler Kolek
In Tyler we trusted? Time will tell only how much longer.
Kolek’s fate is a buried subplot in the Knicks’ season: the team has yet to make a move on his fourth-year option (unlike the reported rejection of 2024 draft classmate Pacome Dadiet) and he has enjoyed an uptick in minutes with Jose Alvarado ailing. One has to wonder when, or if, his promotion will become permanent: the Knicks are 23-7 all-time when Kolek has at least four assists in a game and 32-15 when he plays at least 12 minutes.
Tonight is a bit of a Kolek landmark, as Alvarado has a medical designation beyond “out” for the first time since enduring the ankle injury in the second game of this tour (listed as questionable as of press time). It’ll be interesting to see where he stands on the New York call sheet as the Knicks inch back toward full strength and as they try to claw back from an early hole on the leaderboard.
Net to Watch: Nolan Traore
Knicks fans will likely endure some mixed feelings when a former asset takes the floor at MSG tonight … also Julius Randle enters the Manhattan-Brooklyn rivalry on the Atlantic Avenue side for the first time.
Yes, nostalgia will reign upon Randle’s return, but the true x-factor in tonight’s showdown could be Traore: the French phenom is technically a former Knick asset as the pick Brooklyn used to obtain his services was in Manhattan until it was moved in the famed Mikal Bridges deal.
Those viewing the trade through Brooklyn-colored glasses will undoubtedly insist that the jury’s still out on its winner because the Knicks’ end of the bargain isn’t complete yet. Traore is likely the best named asset that the Nets have obtained from the deal to date: fresh off a four-three game against the Pacers, Traore has raised his success rate from deep by over seven full points and has four consecutive games with at least one takeaway. It’s clear that Traore has a role in the Nets’ latest rebuild project and helping end the grim losing streak against the Knicks would help further etch that spot.
They Said It
“You’re starting all over. It’s like climbing a mountain. We’re climbing a mountain as a team and we conquer the mountain, then you’ve got to come back down, take some time off, then you’ve got to climb another mountain. It’s the same thing, and when you climb that mountain the second time, you’re starting from base camp again,and if you skip steps doing that, you’re going to die. It’s not that tragic for us. When you’re sitting at 2-4, people equate it to that sometimes, but it’s the same thing, taking each step the right way and embracing it and trying to get a little better.”—Knicks head coach Mike Brown on the quest to re-gain championship chemistry (h/t Jared Schwartz, New York Post)
“We’ve got a big game [Monday] that we should be very excited to play. Last year, when we went to the Garden, it was not pretty, and we should remember that and look forward to getting our rest [Sunday night] and going in there and being competitive. I know I’m looking forward to it.”—Porter Jr. on the matchup with the Knicks (h/t Brian Lewis, New York Post)
Prediction
Literal home cooking gets the Knicks back on track, at least for the time being.
The championship hangover continues to put the Knicks in a bit of a haze, but the powers that be in the league’s scheduling department has offered them a delightful dish in the form of a struggling rival that’s fresh off a hard-fought victory over a Tyrese Haliburton/Ivica Zubac-free Pacer club. Emotions could be on the line with Randle in the building to look at a championship banner he partly helped stitch (at least the first threads) but what’s done is done there and is no excuse for the Knicks to come out flat.
If the Knicks drop this one, maybe there’s larger problems afoot and finally a larger conversation to be had. For now, accept this gift for what it is.
