Jalen Brunson may have given the New York Knicks a game-changing moment on Friday night, potentially shaping their season — while also showing the Brooklyn Nets how much progress they’ve made in their rebuilding process.
Brunson and the Knicks will try to carry the momentum from Friday’s last-second victory into Sunday night, when they host the Nets for another matchup between the two local rivals.
It’s the second consecutive game between the teams, who had Saturday off after Brunson hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left to give the Knicks a 124-122 victory over the Nets in NBA Cup Group A play.
Brunson’s clutch shot helped the Knicks improve to 2-0 in Group A and avoided a second straight tough loss. New York had come back from a 22-point deficit against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, only to lose 124-123 when Brunson’s potential game-winning shot missed at the buzzer.
On Friday, the Knicks saw a 21-point third-quarter lead slip away and were trailing for the first time since the first quarter when Dennis Schroder hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation.
After a timeout, Brunson took an inbounds pass from Mikal Bridges, sized up Dorian Finney-Smith for a few seconds, and then hit a jumper that went straight through the net.
The Nets, who had no timeouts left, quickly rushed up the court, but Schroder’s layup attempt was blocked by Bridges. Ariel Hukporti grabbed the rebound just as time ran out.
With the win, the Knicks — who were expected to be strong title contenders after adding Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns in the summer — evened their record at 6-6 and avoided falling two games under .500 for the first time since November 2023.
“That is the nature of this league,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “We had the emotion of that last game and that disappointment. And then to bounce back like we did tonight — to find a way at the end speaks volumes to who (Brunson) is, to have that resolve to take that shot and make that shot.”
Brunson’s big moment denied the rebuilding Nets a chance at a statement win in their Group A opener.
Brooklyn made it clear they were rebuilding by trading Bridges to the Knicks in July in a deal that included seven draft picks. But the Nets (5-8), under first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez, have exceeded expectations, staying competitive and sitting among the top 10 teams in the Eastern Conference, just three games behind the third-seeded Orlando Magic.
Though the Nets have lost four of their last five, they’ve led in the fourth quarter of games against the Knicks, defending NBA champions Boston Celtics, and the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics edged Brooklyn 108-104 in overtime on November 8, and the Cavaliers won 105-100 the following night.
Brooklyn’s only recent blowout loss was a 139-114 defeat to the Celtics on Wednesday, where Fernandez criticized his team’s effort. But he found something to build on in Friday’s game, as the Nets made a strong fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring the Knicks 40-24.
“They stayed together right there,” Fernandez said. “That’s a sign of, when you hear that from your players, it’s like, OK, we’re going to get there. And to see it at that point, (a) 40-point quarter, took the lead, it’s pretty impressive.”
