BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- It may not be the "blueprint for greatness," but it's something.
With Carmelo Anthony sitting out, the Nets snapped a 10-game home skid with a 110-104 victory over the New York Knicks. It was hardly a home win, considering all the blue and orange engulfed in the dark Barclays Center.
Knick fans were noticeably loud, but the Nets protected their home court despite their horrid record in Brooklyn. Nets fans, still, defended their turf and chanted, "This is our house!" in the final seconds of the game.
Brooklyn improved their record to 11-28 and also snapped a five-game losing streak. Tony Brown gets his first win as interim head coach, too!
The Nets came out fired up against the fatigued Knickerbockers, who played their second game of a back-to-back --without an injured Carmelo Anthony-- following an intense game against Boston. They led by 11 at one point and owned a 54-51 advantage at half behind a balanced attack from Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic nailed his first three-pointers after missing his previous 18 shots. He nailed four total on the night and scored 14 points.
On the other end, the Nets held Kristaps Porzingis to five points, but Derrick Williams torched them with 17 points in the half. Williams finished with a game-high 31 points, while Porzingis had a poor 5-of-17 shooting night.
The second half would be a game of exchanging buckets right down to the wire.
The Nets, however, would extend the lead late in the fourth quarter to six with 1:29 remaining after Joe Johnson scored his ninth point of the second half. He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and six rebounds.
Fittingly, former Knick Shane Larkin aka "tiny hands," nailed the dagger to go up eight with 34 seconds. Larkin held his flicked wrist and trotted back with swagger. If anybody wanted it, it was Shane, who finished with a season-high 17 points.
The Nets out-scored the Knicks 36-29 in the fourth quarter. Stud rookie Kristaps Porzingis was held to just three points in the fourth quarter. With Melo sitting out, this was crucial to the Nets' success in this one.
The frontcourt duo of Lopez and Young did everything in their power to keep Brooklyn afloat. Young (19 points and 11 rebounds) notched his 18th double double of the year, while Brook Lopez scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists.
But it was really the balanced attack that eventually propelled them: five players in double figures, with Lopez, Young and Johnson combining for 53 points.
The Nets' bench finished with 39 points behind the lead of Larkin and Bogdanovic. Excluding Derrick Williams, the Knicks bench finished with just 12 points.
The Nets also dished out 24 assists and shot 52 percent from the field. Tony Brown said the team was trying out a new defense.
"What we’re trying to do is, we’re trying to simplify it for everyone," Brown said. "Just trying to be a little more consistent with what we’re doing, so everyone’s on the same page with what we’re doing.
"When you’ve been through a streak of losing like we have, sometimes you lose faith in what you’re doing," Brown said. "So we’re just trying to start from rock bottom, simplify it a little bit, and hopefully everybody can be on the same page."
Underrated key:
Young played phenomenal defense on the noticeably fatigued Kristaps Porzingis. Every time Porzingis would put the ball on the floor, Young would swarm him and force a pass out or difficult shot. When Porzingis was out on the perimeter, Young was right there with him.
Next up: Familiar face Mason Plumlee and the Portland Trail Blazers visit Barclays Friday night.
For more on the Knicks, check them out at Posting and Toasting.
- New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets - Box Score - ESPN
- New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets - Box Score - NBA.com
- Game Thread: Brooklyn Nets vs. New York Knicks, 7:30 PM - NetsDaily
- 2nd Half Game Thread: Knicks at Nets - NetsDaily
- Nets beat Knicks 110-104 to end 10-game home skid - Brian Mahoney - AP
- Knicks vs. Nets (Video) - NBA.com
- Young Dunks it Home (Video) - NBA.com
- Larkin's Sweet Pass to Lopez (Video) - NBA.com
- Derrick Williams Throws It Down. (Video) - NBA.com
- Kristaps Porzingis Throws It Down (Video) - NBA.com
- Brotherly Battle (Video) - NBA.com
- Williams with the Big Dunk (Video) - NBA.com
- Derrick Williams Throws It Down (Video) - NBA.com
- GameTime: Joe Johnson A Trade Chip (Video) - NBA.com
- Post Game Plus: Nets defeat Knicks, 110-104 (Video) - Ryan Ruocco - YES Network
- Brown on Nets clipping Knicks in Brooklyn (Video) - YES Network
- Tony Brown on starting over from scratch (Video) - YES Network
- Shane Larkin on snapping home losing streak (Video) - YES Network
- Thaddeus Young on snapping their losing streak (Video) - YES Network
- Brook Lopez on 110 - 104 win over the Knicks (Video) - YES Network
- Knicks edged by Nets: Highlights & Analysis (Video) - MSG Network
- Nets top Carmelo-less Knicks, 110-104 - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets notes: Less minutes for Johnson? - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Time for Nets to make adult decisions - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Popper: Knicks and Nets are on different paths - Steve Popper - The Record
- Knicks notes: Carmelo Anthony sits out -Steve Popper - The Record
- Knicks' loss to Nets shows how important Carmelo is to Porzingis - Ian Begley - ESPN New York
- Nets Rally Past Knicks Before Hostile Home Crowd - Seth Berkman - New York Times
- Nets beat crosstown rival Knicks to end skid at home - Laura Albanese - Newsday
- Knicks, without Carmelo Anthony, lose to Nets - Al Iannazzone - Newsday
- Knicks fans turn Barclays into home game, but Nets win - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Without Carmelo Anthony, Knicks stunned by lowly Nets - Marc Berman - New York Post
- ‘No-brainer’: Nets approach Tom Thibodeau - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- New approach helps give Nets interim coach his first victory - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Why chippy Robin Lopez made brother, Brook, ‘kind of mad’ - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Derrick Williams’ monster dunk lone highlight in Knicks’ ugly loss - Marc Berman - New York Post
- Dismal loss shows why Knicks still are Carmelo Anthony’s team - Kevin Kernan - New York Post
- Nets top Carmelo-less Knicks, 110-104 -Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Shane Larkin gets revenge, sparks Nets to 110-104 victory (Game Grades) - Benny Nadeau - The Brooklyn Game
- Nets 110, Knicks 104: Words of encouragement, physicality, and Zippers -Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- The Nets actually played high-pace basketball Wednesday night = Fred Katz - FOX Sports