Brooklyn Nets Pull Old Ball in the Back Routine at Madison Square Garden

From the desks of: DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP  and  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Nets lead Knicks; 2-0

BK 113; NY 109

BK 103; NY 101

SUNDAY

Nets (8-8)          103

Knicks (4-13)   101

FINAL

Julius Randle's offensive rebound and two point shot brings the Knicks within two with 0.4 left on the game clock.  After a Nets timeout, Joe Harris exercises a bit of craftiness by in-bounding the ball off the back of an unsuspecting Wayne Ellington whom then takes position as the buzzer sounds.

Game over ...

Still playing minus the services of Caris LeVert and Kyrie Irving, the Nets win their third in a row, defeating the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  Spencer Dinwiddie continues leading the charge with a game high 30 points, with 13/14 coming from the stripe.  Both Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen post double-doubles; Prince scores 14 points with 11 rebounds, and Allen adds 18 points with ten rebounds.  DeAndre Jordan's six points and five rebounds in 16 minutes gives the center position 24 points and 15 boards for the night.

Marcus Morris leads the Knicks with 26 points in a team high 33 minutes.  Julius Randle adds 15 points and eight rebounds.  The rest of the bunch muster little else.  The Knicks actually win the battle of the boards by a 43-35 margin, and post a 22-18 advantage in assists.  And with three more possessions shoot 37/80 (46.3%) from the floor and 18/35 (51.4%) from beyond the arc, versus just 31/77 (40.3%) from the floor and 14/38 (36.8%) from three for Brooklyn.  However, the Nets are 27/34 from the line, while the Knicks are just 9/16 (56.3%) ... there's your difference in Sunday's game.

Brooklyn has now defeated the Knicks in each of their first two meetings this season.

N.Y. Knicks: Fans Make the Unicorn Feel Unwelcome in Garden Return

From the desk of: DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

THURSDAY

Mavericks   103

Knicks         106

FINAL

Too bad David Fizdale can't play the Mavericks every night.  What an exciting season that would be, as two of the Knicks three victories have come against Dallas, and just happen to be the two most entertaining games of their season to date.

The groundwork for Thursday night's thriller was laid last Friday at Dallas where the Knicks defeat Kristaps Porzingis and the Mavs in a 106-102 final.  Despite 28 points from Kristaps, the Mavericks were outdone by 29 points and nine rebounds from Marcus Morris; 21 points and eight rebounds from Julius Randle; and Bobby Portis' double-double off the bench with 14 points and a dozen boards.

In his first game back at Madison Square Garden since essentially instigating his own trade out out town, Porzingis is 7/17 from the floor and just 1/5 from beyond the arc.  He scores 20 points and secures 11 rebounds for the cosmetic double-double.

A raucous Garden crowd begins serenading Kristaps late in the third quarter with hymns of A$$H@L#...!  Later in the final minute of the quarter with the Knicks down by two Porzingis secures a rebound off a Luka Doncic miss, and emphatically dunks it tying the game at 87-87 with the clock showing 0:04 left in the third.  Kristaps then pauses and glances around as if to say who's the a$$h@l# now.

The Knicks dominate the boards by a 53-44 margin.  Marcus Morris again leads the Knicks with 20 points.  Julius Randle adds 17 points and ten rebounds.  Mitchell Robinson scores 16 points with eight rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench before fouling out.  Dennis Smith Jr. leads the Knicks with eight assists with 13 points also off the bench.