Starting to get the feeling Kevin Durant really does wish he had chosen the Knicks. He came at them again like a maniac in this one — and led Brooklyn to an early demolishing of the Knicks in the 1st quarter, the Nets taking a 38-22 lead, with more in the 2nd quarter, Brooklyn taking a 69-44 halftime lead.
The Knicks made their move late in the 3rd quarter and early into the 4th — and pulled to within 15 points. But Jalen Brunson missed a 3 that would have made it a 12-point game, and then RJ Barrett ‘just missed’ getting the ball to fall on a drive with foul which could have been a traditional 3-pt play and possible 12-pt game. Instead, he got 2 free throws — and missed both — and within minutes Brooklyn was back up by 20+.
That was it for Knicks excitement on the entire evening.
It was a blowout that left some Knick fans dispassionate about the whole season. “I’m in an ‘I don’t care about the season’ mood already at game 11 sitting on a 5-6 record. Am I the problem?”, said JayKnicky on Twitter.
NY falls to 5-6; Brooklyn improves to 5-7.
1. Durant Killed Them
Kevin Durant has recently taken charge of the Nets — who have been in disarray with the Kyrie Irving suspension and recent firing of coach Steve Nash. Nash was fired on November 1, and Kyrie suspended by the Nets on November 3 — although he ran into controversy the week before. With the Nets in total disarray at that time, Durant took charge scoring:
- 36 pts in a win over Indiana,
- 32 pts in a close loss to Chicago,
- 28 pts in a win in Washington,
- 27 pts in a win in Charlotte, and
- 26 points in close loss in Dallas.
And he took over again this night — from the get go en route to 29 points.
“He got everything,” said coach Tom Thibodeau about Durant. “He scored. He made plays. He created easy offense. They got a lot of confidence in that 1st quarter. It’s hard to slow a team down once they get going like that.”
when you need a bucket, you know who to call pic.twitter.com/I1eXJlZ0dO
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 10, 2022
2. Nets’ D & Durant Put Knicks on their Heels
New Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn had the Nets playing with improved, switching defense. That, plus the combination of Durant coming at them like a maniac — put the Knicks on their heels from the start and took them out of their game.
Said Thibs: “We were low energy on offense. Low energy on defense. Turned the ball over. Turnovers gave ’em fast break buckets. Durant put a lot of pressure on us.”
When asked about the low energy, Thibodeau provided details: “It snowballed on us. Probably over dribbling. Because of the switching you have to cut more. You have to slip. You have to put pressure on the rim. You can’t stand around. There’s no stat for that. It’s giving yourself up for the team.”
3. Randle Starred Alone
Julius Randle played well — he was the lone Knick to play like a star. Randle was hitting his shot — 24 points on 7-15 shooting (4-8 from 3), 11 rebounds and 3 assists.
Strong Take Ju 💪 pic.twitter.com/E2YX5q0dzk
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 10, 2022
But he didn’t get much help as everyone on the Knicks kept missing shots.
Even the usually clutch and reliable Jalen Brunson shot 4-14 (1-5 from 3). RJ Barrett was 5-14 (2-4 from 3, but 4-8 in free throws) — for 16 points.
Cam Reddish was 0-7 from the floor (0-4 from 3). Obi Toppin was 2-7 for 5 pts. Immanuel Quickly was 1-8 (0-6 from 3). It was that kind of night.
Hidden in the shadows was a nice night from Jericho Sims — who started at center and played 27 minutes — 3-3 from the floor for 7 pts and 6 rebounds.
BLOCKED by Sims ‼️ pic.twitter.com/aDGCYakRz3
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 10, 2022
4. For the Nets
For the Nets, in addition to Durant, the whole starting 5 had awesome +/- numbers.
Power forward Royce O’Neale and had 6 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and a +44 in 34 minutes.
Joe Harris (10 pts) had a +27, point guard Edmund Sumner (18 pts) had a +24, and power forward Nic Claxton (12 pts) had a +14.
Seth Curry came off the bench for 24 points (6-11 from 3).
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401468319
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