Scenes from McBride beating McBrooklyn

To start today’s matinee at Madison Square Garden between the New York Knicks (41-28) and the Brooklyn Nets (26-44), the home team struggled with their shooting overall but found success from beyond the arc. Credit goes to Deuce McBride’s flaming fingers; in the first half, he led all scorers with 16 points. Despite the Knicks’ improved second-quarter defense, the Nets managed a sliver of a lead at halftime, courtesy of Mikal Bridges’ three-quarter-court buzzer-beater. In the third period, the Knicks’ offense still sputtered but their defense stood pat, holding their foes to 20 points. In the final frame, our heroes finally clicked with consistency, the Nets went over eight minutes without a field goal, and a splendid afternoon at the Garden concluded with New York winning, 105-93

For the Nets, Cam Thomas scored 19, Bridges added 18. For the winners, Miles McBride played 48 minutes, tied his career-high with six three-pointers, and finished with 26 points. Donte DiVincenzo logged his fifth 30+ point game of the season, scoring 31 on 12-of-24 from the floor. Isaiah Hartenstein outplayed Nic Claxton and tallied up 17 points, 10 boards, two assists, and six stocks.

Although he didn’t shoot well, Josh Hart was a tornado as always, grabbing 13 boards and adding five dimes in his 44 minutes. And Jalen Brunson chipped in a low-key 17 points, eight assists, four boards, and a steal. It’s always nice to see the Knicks win without needing Jalen to spill a quart of blood on the hardwood.

First Half

In the opening minutes, the Knicks’ production was hindered by Brooklyn’s three early blocks. The home team missed five of their first seven shots, mostly close-range bunnies, before catching a groove. From deep, both teams had a smooth touch from the jump. The Knicks swished four of their first five three-pointers and the Nets hit 3-of-3. Both teams played with pace and despite New York’s tough defense, Brooklyn penetrated to score 16 first-quarter points in the paint compared to New York’s six. The Knicks would finish the frame behind 30-28.

Here is Deuce McBride on his way to sinking 4-of-4 (including three threes) in Q1. Today he led all first-half scorers with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, plus two dimes and a board. He also played all 24 minutes of the half. Before the season started, who among us had bet on Miles starting and playing like this?

New York made just one of seven field goals to start the second quarter, but luckily, the Nets were also afflicted by bricks. Triples from Alec Burks, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Deeeuuuce McBride helped our heroes keep afloat before Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo returned midway through the period.

In the second, the Nets committed six of their seven first-half turnovers, which New York converted to 10 points. After the bumpy first quarter, the Knicks tightened up their paint protection, allowing only six points there in the second. They had outscored the visitors in the quarter, but Mikal Bridges hit a 62-foot buzzer-beater to give Brooklyn the intermission advantage 57-56.

For the half, New York shot better outside the arc than in, hitting 10-of-23 from long and 11-of-28 from short. Brooklyn had shot 54% FG and 50% 3P. After two quarters with eight lead changes and seven ties, the visitors seemed unwilling to surrender an easy victory to our orange and blue heroes. In games like this, you just know that a whole Knicks team, with Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, and OG Anunoby in uniform, would have mopped the floor with their opponent.

Second Half

The Knicks’ rocky shooting continued after halftime, hitting two of their first seven attempts. Second-chance points saved their bacon—after three quarters, New York had 21 second-half points to Brooklyn’s three. McBride continued to carry the team through the third, which the Knicks won 24-20. Once again, Brooklyn benefited from a buzzer-beater, with Cam Thomas just getting off a triple as the clock expired.

The Nets’ Nic Claxton and New York’s Isaiah Hartenstein dueled a bit at the rim, and Hartenstein was the better center when they squared off. Kudos to Jericho Sims, too, who didn’t fill up the stat-sheet (seven rebounds and a steal), but he contributed meaningful defensive pressure in his limited minutes.

To start the final frame, spirited play from DiVincenzo and Josh Hart allowed the Knicks to leap ahead. When Deuce canned another trey and stole the ball from Bridges, and Hartenstein dunked a Brunson assist, New York had a 15-point lead with four and a half remaining and the outlook was bleak for their opponents. Brooklyn went from 11:44 to 3:41 without converting a bucket. It’s hard to win a basketball game with that kind of drought, and they didn’t.

Up Next

The Pistons pay a visit on Monday. Enjoy your weekend, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

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