Despite holding a combined record of 8-26 heading into Thursday’s game on TNT, a crosstown “rivals” matchup between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets was a must-watch.
No one expected these two teams to be as bad as they have been over the first month of the season, but various factors – primarily injuries and adjusting to some new faces – have turned them into the laughingstocks of the league.
Someone still had to win the game, and the Knicks took charge of this one quickly in the second half to embarrass the Nets 113-83. All the shots that wouldn’t fall for New York during its nine-game losing streak finally went through the net, as the team shot an impressive 16-27 from beyond the arc. Brooklyn did little to stop the barrage, repeatedly leaving shooters wide open.
Too often through much of the season, the ball stuck to one player for the Knicks. Against the porous defense of the Nets, they moved the ball freely and managed 24 assists and 12 turnovers, with six players in double figures. It would be the Nets who refused to make simple passes and resorted to one stubborn isolation play after another, evidenced by 11 assists and 16 turnovers. It was truly an ugly style of play, and the game quickly got out of reach by the time it got to the fourth quarter.
Former player Jay Williams saw the action and didn’t like what he saw, like most of us:
Watching Knicks Nets game is painful!
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) December 6, 2013
It was painful to watch, yet hard to stay away from. With the game out of reach, rookie coach Jason Kidd decided to put Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez back in the game anyway in the fourth quarter. The result? A meaningless tussle between Garnett and Andrea Bargnani:
Bargnani eventually got tossed from the blowout win for trash-talking to Garnett after making a shot over him.
Tweet of the Day: NBA, Players Remember Nelson Mandela
Tweet of the Night: Steve Kerr praises Portland, takes jab at status of both New York teams
Jame Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.