Knicks rally but Kyrie Irving seals win for Nets

If the Knicks entered Barclays Center with clearly laid out expectations — a playoff berth voiced by Madison Square Garden Chairman James Dolan — they failed the first test in a battle for New York.

The Knicks entered with consecutive wins over Cleveland and Boston and after Dolan’s optimism, had an opportunity on national television to show where they are. With Kyrie Irving scoring 21 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, the answer is not ready for prime time, falling, 122-115, to the  Nets.

The Nets have presented a measuring stick for the Knicks and they have regularly come up short, now having lost 10 straight games against the crosstown rival. 

Before the game Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau dismissed the rivalry and the need to prove something against the Nets. 

“One game has nothing to do with the Nets,” he said. “You don’t look backwards. You look ahead. Understand what goes into winning. And lock into that.

“I don’t want us to get lost in feeling too good, because you win a game in Boston that has nothing to do with tonight’s game. We have to understand, we have to come in and put the work into tonight’s game in order to win it, understand what goes into winning each and every night. There [are] no shortcuts to this. And so, if you feel too good about yourselves and you take a shortcut, the results aren’t going to be the same. So, everyday, you can’t get bored with that process. You got to put the necessary work into each and every game.”

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 26 points while RJ Barrett had 24 and Julius Randle contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. But none of it was enough as the Knicks dug an early hole and could never quite get all the way back. Irving proved the difference after shooting just 4-for-12 for 11 points through the first three quarter before answering every Knicks run down the stretch.

The Knicks fell behind by as much as 18 in the second quarter and the frustration showed as both Thibodeau and Randle were hit with technical fouls as Barrett prepared to take a free throw in the final minute of the half. As the half ended Brunson guided Randle off the court and to the locker room to prevent him from getting whistled for a second technical and an ejection.

That the Knicks only trailed 62-49 seemed like a minor victory as they hardly resembled the team that had beaten Cleveland and Boston in their last two outings. Nic Claxton blocked three shots in the half and the best thing the Knicks had going for them was Randle drawing double teams and finding open shooters — tallying six assists in the half to go along with 11 points and five rebounds.

The deficit was 19 in the third quarter but the Knicks kept coming and with an unlikely late four points from Isaiah Hartenstein on a drive from the top of the key and then a short floater they cut the deficit to 88-81 entering the fourth quarter. Hartenstein delivered again to start the fourth quarter and the Knicks were down just five.

The Knicks trailed 93-86 when Irving began to heat up — connecting on a three when Deuce McBride wandered off him to help in the lane, then scoring in the paint and following a Seth Curry three with another three of his own. Irving had been held to 4-for-14 before the flurry, but now put the Nets up, 104-90, and Thibodeau was signaling for a timeout to get his starters back on the floor.

The Knicks closed it to eight again and had the ball, but Brunson lost the handle and Irving picked up the loose ball and went the distance, beating two defenders for a fast break layup. Again, Randle keep the Knicks going and when he connected on a jumper in the lane with 4:29 left the Nets called time clinging to a 106-100 lead. Immanuel Quickley drained a corner three with 3:36 left and the lead was five and after Jericho Sims blocked a Curry layup Quentin Grimes followed a Quickley miss and the lead was down to 108-105.

A Curry three-pointer pushed the lead back to six, but Brunson delivered in the lane. The Knicks got a stop, but Grimes misfired on a stepback three with 1:45 to play. And this time Irving delivered a dagger, draining a three with 1:19 to play for a 114-107 Brooklyn lead.

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.