Knicks Get Serious in 4th for Easy Win. NY 103 Brooklyn 90

November 3, 2026 LouV 2026-27 0

The Knicks played free and easy for 3 quarters — so easy that they allowed the Nets to go on a 17-3 run late in the 3rd quarter to turn a 9-pt Knick lead into a 5-pt deficit.

But then the Knicks got serious in the 4th quarter, outscoring the Nets 28-11 for an easy 103-90 win at Madison Square Garden on a Monday night.

The Knicks tightened their D and were led on offense by Landry Shamet who hit two big 3’s at the end the of the 3rd quarter; Josh Hart — who was the point of attack on an intensified defense and hit a 3 to start the 4th; and OG Anunoby, who followed Hart’s 3 with consecutive 3’s of his own as the Knicks took the lead and never looked back.

Shamet was exceptional all night — 22 pts on 6-8 shooting (4-6 from 3) and excellent defense in 30 minutes — as was Jordan Clarkson who had 7 pts on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from 3) and excellent defense in 11 minutes. The two were so good that they played instead of Mikal Bridges (6 pts on 1-7 shooting in 16 minutes) for the majority of the 2nd half and entirety of the 4th quarter. Bridges was subbed for Clarkson with 8:44 left in the 3rd and never came back.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 0 points at the half, but did heavy damage at the start of the 3rd quarter and in the 4th — finishing with 11 pts on 4-11 shooting (1-4 from 3) with 16 rebounds and 5 assists. Jalen Brunson added 19 pts on 6’16 shooting (4-11 from 3).

Brown’s Thoughts

“Good win,” said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “Obviously we let it get away from us a little bit in 3rd but our guys fought; we came back. We ran an action for OG 4 or 5 straight times and he was big with his execution, the way he finished the plays each time — and that helped us get going offensively. KAT was huge with a double-double. Andre had 9 rebounds in 13 minutes; that was big. Our bench was fantastic: Landry came off and gave us a big lift on both ends of the floor; Jordan (Clarkson) as well; and then Tyler — his minutes were tremendous. He did a fantastic job running the team — getting us some easy looks, and he was solid defensively.”

“The biggest thing we talked about in the 2nd half was 50-50 balls,” added Brown. “We were losing the 50-50 ball battles in the 1st half — we ended up winning it in the 2d half — we were 9 for 10. And then our Transition D — our transition D was really good in the 2d half, Josh was our Defensive Player of the Game — at the point of attack he really changed the tempo of the game for us defensively.”

“When you’re in a funk, you’ve got to find one or two things to hold your hat on,” said Brown about Mikal Bridges. “Mikal is one of the best runners in the NBA. He has to hang his hat on that, as well as his cutting. It was also a product of Landry playing well tonite — Landry played very well tonite — so we tried to keep him on the floor as long as we could — and Jordan Clarkson too. But it’s just a matter of time in my opinion before Mikal gets it going.”

NY improves to 3-4; Brooklyn falls to 1-6.

1. Nets Play Fiesty Ball & Hang In vs Knicks

The Nets came in 1-5, having just won their first game of the year — a 98-90 win at Indiana the night before — after an 0-5 start.

Despite playing a back-to-back, the win gave them confidence and they came out playing a fiesty brand of basketball against the Knicks.

NY took a 27-21 lead after 1 quarter, led by Jalen Brunson who hit consecutive 3’s and Miles McBride who hit a 3.

The Nets hung in on the shooting of point guard Nolan Traore, who had 17 pts on 6-8 shooting (5-6 from 3), and Michael Porter Jr., who had 18 pts on 6-13 shooting (4-11 from 3).

The Nets also got solid play from former Knick Julius Randle — who didn’t shoot well (5-16 from the floor and 0-4 from 3) but kept getting to the free throw line (11-15 in FT’s) for 21 pts. Randle also blocked a few shots down low.

2. Knicks Lead by 8 Pts at the half

The Nets hung in in the 2nd quarter — NY only outscoring them 24-23 in the period to take a 7-pt halftime lead.

Randle was getting bucket for Brooklyn, while Mikal Bridges got a bucket and 2 free throws early in the 2nd quarter for NY. Brunson hit another 3, and Landry Shamet — at first playing alongside Bridges — was playing lights out for NY.

Shamet hit 3 free throws after getting fouled taking a 3 near the start of the period, then hit consecutive 3’s in the final 46 seconds of the period to give NY a 50-42 halftime lead.

3. KAT Comes Out of Gate Scoring in 3rd — Knicks Go Up by 9

Karl-Anthony Towns played and played well in the 1st half — but was mostly rebounding and passing — he had 0 points.

The Knicks rectified that at the start of the 3rd — running plays for him — and he started scoring inside and out. He hit 2 buckets inside off Brunson passes, then hit free throws after being fouled on a drive, and 2 minutes later hit a 3 to give NY a 67-60 lead.

OG free throws gave NY a 69-60 lead with 5:16 left in the 3rd.

4. Wagner Sparks Nets 17-3 Run to Take 5-Pt Lead in 3rd

And then Mikal Brown Jr. made consecutive buckets inside, Moritz Wagner stole the ball from Brunson leading to a missed Brown 3 but Noah Clowney grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Michael Porter Jr. for a 3 and NY’s lead was sliced to 69-67.

Moritz Wagner hit a 3 next time down and the Nets were up 70-69. Michael Porter Jr. followed with a 3 off a Wagner assist and the Nets were up by 4.

Landry Shamet hit a 3 for the only Knick points in the run. But then Mikal Brown Jr. made free throws after being fouled by Miles McBride, and next time down Julius Randle made free throws after being fouled by Mohammed Diawara — who saw his first daylight of the season — and the Nets were up by 5 at 77-72 with 1:14 left in the 3rd.

5. Knicks Get Serious Behind Shamet, Hart, OG, Clarkson & DEFENSE

Shamet countered with Another 3 to pull NY within 2 pts — although Randle free throws gave the Nets a 4-pt lead entering the 4th at 79-75.

The two Shamet 3’s were just the beginning of the Knick pushback.

Coach Brown brought in Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson to start the 4th to provide better ball movement and shooting. Josh Hart led the point of the defensive attack, and the Knicks took full control of the game.

Hart hit a 3 to start the period, then OG hit 2 consecutive 3’s and just like that NY was up by 5 at 84-79.

Randle scored on a drive but Hart fed Kolek with a beautiful pass for an easy bucket underneath and an 86-81 Knick lead.

Hart scored on a drive and Clarkson hit a 3 and NY was up 10 — 91-81 with 7:48 left.

KAT got a bucket inside a minute later and NY went up by 11.

Then — oddly — Andre Drummond came in for KAT with 5:49 left — Coach Brown would explain later it was to give KAT a breather as he had been in for a while.

Drummond played GREAT — challenging shots on Defense, ripping down rebounds in traffic, and scoring inside.

Jalen Brunson kept getting fouled and going to the line — and missing the first but hitting the 2nd free throw (he did this 3 times and was 3-6 in free throws on the night). Clarkson hit a runner and NY’s lead was 14. Drummond scored inside and NY’s lead was 16 with 3:08 left — and that was pretty much the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401909910

 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*