On Tuesday night, the Brooklyn Nets emerged victorious in the Battle of New York, pulling off a thrilling 112-110 victory over the crosstown rival Knicks. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Nets, who suffered a 113-107 loss in their last game against the Phoenix Suns. With the victory, the Nets extended their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings to 1.5 games.
Durant, Harden carry scoring cudgels in Big Apple showdown
Kevin Durant and James Harden made sure the Nets would not lose two in a row as they put on quite a show in front of an announced crowd of 18,081, the largest to see an NBA game in Brooklyn.
Harden nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. He made history with that performance as he joined Ray Allen, Stephen Curry, and Reggie Miller in the list of players to have scored at least 2,500 3-pointers. Harden was unstoppable right from the get-go, scoring 28 of his 34 points in the opening half.
Harden cooled down in the second half, but fortunately for the Nets, they had Durant to seal the deal in the closing stages. Durant scored 11 of his 27 points in the final 5:45 of the fourth quarter to help the Nets thwart the Knicks' late rally.
Durant was forced to give up the ball, though, on the last possession with the game tied at 110 after the Knicks double-teamed him on the top of the key. The ball found its way to James Johnson, who was fouled by Mitchell Robinson when driving to the basket with 2.2 seconds left in the game clock. Johnson proved to be clutch as he buried his free throws to give the Nets the lead for good.
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Burks delivers in first game as Knicks' new starting point guard
It was a disappointing defeat for the Knicks, who dropped to 11-10 for the season. The Knicks showed steely resolve as they battled back from a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter. They managed to tie the game with 17 seconds left after Evan Fournier hit a wide-open 3-pointer. New York nearly pulled off the dramatic win after Johnson's free throws, but Fournier's shot from just over half-court at the buzzer agonizingly hit the back of the rim.
All eyes were on Alec Burks, who was surprisingly named by Tom Thibodeau as the Knicks' new starting point guard ahead of Tuesday's game. He replaced the ineffective Kemba Walker, who was kicked out of the Knicks' rotation. Burks did not disappoint in his new role, scoring a season-high 25 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists in 39 minutes of action.
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