Knicks can thank Nets for helping bring out some toughness
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby puts up a reverse basket against the Brooklyn Nets in the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
For decades now the cross-river rivalry has mostly amounted to a one-sided affair. The Nets, whether in East Rutherford or Brooklyn (or Long Island or Piscataway or Newark), have been second-citizens to the Knicks.
But on a night like Friday, the first of a two-set match that concludes with another chance Sunday night, the rivalry emerges and maybe for the Knicks it is just what they needed.
Through the early stages of the season the Knicks have endured up and down performances, showing hints of what they can be while alternately struggling through brutal lows. But facing the Nets Friday they seemed to find something that had been missing among the growing pains — fight.
It wasn’t just the near fight the teams found themselves in, having to be separated as the normally placid OG Anunoby was held back from charging Dorian Finney-Smith after being shoved to the floor.
The teams battled to the final buzzer, a huge Knicks lead disappearing as they tried to make it to the finish with Karl-Anthony Towns in street clothes and Anunoby sitting out the final four minutes after fouling out. A Jalen Brunson game-winning three-pointer one game after he’d missed a potential game-tying jumper against Chicago and a Mikal Bridges block of a Dennis Schroder drive at the buzzer gave them a much-needed win.
And it let them come together afterward, feeling like an underdog again, whether it was the opponent or even the officials.
“Oh god, don’t get me going,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We’ve been a low foul team for a long time now. And all of the sudden, like, I see what’s going on and I don’t like it.
“It can’t be the physicality that’s being displayed on Jalen when he’s bringing the ball up the floor, the grab, the hold, all that stuff . . . I don’t care how they call it. They can call it loose, they can call it tight, but it’s got to be the same for both teams.”
The Knicks have undoubtedly added talent to the roster this season, but combining it with the style of the recent incarnations is what could make the team a championship contender. And in the Nets, they may have found a foil to grow that part of their game against.
“We just have to have sense of urgency to start games and don’t let teams get into rhythm,” Josh Hart said.
“You guys have been in the league long enough to know when guys get in rhythm it’s hard to shut them. So we got to do a better job of coming out aggressive, physicality, making the extra effort and not easing our way into the game.”
From last to loved
Ariel Hukporti was the last player selected in the 2024 NBA Draft and his playing time so far this season seemed to match that spot, accumulating just 32 minutes of action in the first 11 games and almost all of it in one-sided games. But with Towns sitting out Friday, Jericho Sims got the start and when Hukporti entered he provided energy and some tantalizing skills that earned him 30 minutes on the floor.
“It’s good,” Hukporti said. “I was waiting for the opportunity for a long time, been working for it my whole life so took the opportunity not for granted.
"I played pro since I was 15 years old so at the start I wasn’t nervous at all — just when it
comes to a close game. I still got to work on a lot of things. I learned a lot today, got to learn from my mistakes, and just keep going.”
“[It was] huge,” Hart said of Hukporti’s contributions. “Energy. A presence on the screens, protecting the rim, rebounding the ball deflections, running the court. The thing about a rookie is for him is the hard thing is to continue to have the energy and not being complacent. …. You guys saw a glimpse of what he can do. We’re excited for what he is and he’s going to be big for us.”
He had the Garden crowd exploding when he caught a Brunson pass cutting through the lane for a fourth-quarter dunk.
“It was great,” he said. “I had a couple of dunks in the preseason as well. It’s not my first time. It was just great to hear the crowd, hype up the crowd.”
When it was noted that this is far different than preseason he added, “I know. But preseason I really dunked on everybody.”
Foul play
Mikal Bridges has had his moments with the Knicks and certainly did Friday with 22 points and the game-saving block. But one thing he hasn’t done is get to the free-throw line - settling for three-point field goals (76 of his 167 shots) and mid-range fadeaway shots. He has gotten to the line just 11 times in 12 games.
“I know, just got to be better,” he said. “I know it’s early. Talk about it with coaches, find ways to get to the rim and draw fouls.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.