Spencer Dinwiddie leads all Brooklyn Nets’ players in scoring and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was the only other Net to score in double digits

Yesterday, was the day after Christmas and most people in and around the Barclays Center were filled with good cheer. Of course, Brooklyn Nets fans were expecting the 16-13 Nets to be able to handle their business over the lowly 7-24 New York Knicks. But the Nets put up very little effort and someone forgot to tell the Knicks players that it was the day after Christmas, and it would be okay if they slacked off. So, instead of a Nets win, the Knicks pulled off an embarrassing upset.

How The Nets Lost By The Numbers

The Nets shot 26.9 percent from the field (21 of 78) versus the Knicks’ 40.2 percent (37 of 92). From behind the arc, the Nets hit 13 of 50 (26 percent) buckets and the Knicks weren’t much better at 9 of 29 (31 percent), but they didn’t have to be. From the line, the Nets made 27 of its 36 free-throws versus the Knicks’ 11 of 15. The Knicks also outrebounded the Nets 60-50.

Looking at how the points were distributed among the players, New York boasted four players scoring in double digits to the Nets’ two.

For the Knicks, Julius Randle led all scorers with 33 points and eight rebounds; Marcus Morris, Sr. posted 22 points and eight rebounds; Elfrid Payton contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, and; Mitchell Robinson registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, only Spencer Dinwiddie and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored in double digits for the Nets. Dinwiddie scored 25 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, while Luwawu-Cabarrot made the scoring leader cut with 10 points.

So, what the hell happened? How does one explain the Nets’ poor performance against the New York Knicks?

“For us, we held them under 100 points, which was the target,” Dinwiddie explained. “We also shot 27 percent from the field. Let’s go with too much eggnog. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Perhaps, Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson can shed more light on his team’s disappointing loss.

Coach Speak: Kenny Atkinson on his team losing to the New York Knicks

“They just outplayed us, plain and simple,” Coach Atkinson explained. “You could sit there and write or talk about missed shots – and we missed a lot of open shots – I don’t buy that. Give them credit, they were just simply the better team. Take the missed shots out. They were excellent defensively at the rim. They obviously guarded the 3- point line well enough for us to miss a ton of threes. I thought our defense, besides the third quarter, our defense was good. This is one of those nights where you just have to give the other team credit.”

And the Knicks didn’t waste any time taking credit and who could fault them for claiming a win they rightly deserved.

Coach Speak: Mike Miller on how the New York Knicks were able to defeat the Brooklyn Nets

“I like the start,” said New York Knicks head coach Mike Miller. “I thought our guys played with great energy. I thought we really had a great focus. Brooklyn is a very good offensive team. They probably felt like they missed some open looks and opportunities, but I really felt like we did a good job with how we started just making them go through us to make some plays. I think that really helped us in the beginning. It got us off to a great start. I love the effort that we played with and how connected we were tonight.”

“Games are so different,” Coach Miller continued as he reflected on the Knicks’ 121-115 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday night. “Game to game things can be different. The game on Monday we got off to a great start, we just didn’t sustain it. So tonight, I was really pleased because we played a very good offensive team and they hit you so many different ways. As you go in when you play a team that good you have to try to slow them down somehow.”

What’s Next for the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets?

The New York Knicks head to Washington to take on the Washington Wizards on Saturday, December 28, 2019, at 8 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets begin a three-game road trip at Houston, also on tomorrow, Saturday, December 28, 2019, at 8 p.m. ET, then it’s on to Minnesota to play the Timberwolves on Monday, December 30, 2019, at 8:00 ET; Thursday, January 2, 2020, they travel to Dallas to meet up with the Dallas Mavericks at 8:30 p.m., before facing the reigning NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors, at the Barclays Center on Saturday, January 4, 2020.

Hold the eggnog!

Kyrie Irving’s 3-pointer and Spencer Dinwiddie’s two free throws in closing minutes seal Brooklyn Nets 113-109 win over the New York Knicks

The Brooklyn Nets' second game of the NBA season is now on the books, with a 113-109 win against their crosstown rival, the New York Knicks. From last season until now, this is the Nets’ third straight victory over the Knicks. The Nets are now, 1-1 overall this season, while the Knicks are 0-2.

For the second consecutive home game this season, the Nets had a lead in the closing minutes and lost it. However, this time, they pulled themselves from the jaws of another NBA game loss. At the start of the fourth quarter, Brooklyn was leading the New York Knicks 94-83. However, starting early in the fourth stanza, the Knicks and Nets would play a cat and mouse game. The Knicks would chip away at the Nets’ lead and the Nets would regain it back. At 7:02 before the horn, the Nets were leading by 10, and at 5:16, there were only three points separating the Nets and the Knicks. Then the pendulum shift occurred at 3:41 in the fourth quarter, the Nets were down by three points, 109-106 and Knicks fans were on their feet cheering loudly.

Just under three minutes later, Irving hit a pullup jump shot at 59.6 seconds, bringing the Nets to 109-108, closer, but no cigar. Twenty seconds later at 39.2 seconds, Knicks forward Marcus Morris misses a 24-foot step-back shot, Nets center Jarrett Allen gets the rebound, and at 22.4, Irving hits a 26 ft. 3-point step-back shot to bring the Nets a two-point lead at 111-109. Kevin Knox, who is starting his second year with the Knicks, fouls with 8.9 seconds on the clock and Spencer Dinwiddie goes to the line and hits 2 for 2 widening the Nets lead by four with the score now 113-109. Wayne Ellington loses the ball and Irving steals it with .3 seconds on the clock and that sealed the win for the Brooklyn Nets.

VIDEO: Kyrie Irving talks about the final moments leading up to Brooklyn Nets’ win, his relationship with RJ Barrett, and the 82-game NBA schedule

Kyrie Irving led all scorers Friday night with 26 points (8-of-19 FG, 8-of-8 FT) along with a game-high-tying five assists, two rebounds, and three steals in 31 minutes. Irving has now totaled 76 points in his first two games as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, marking the most points tallied through the first two games of a season by a Nets’ player all-time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous high was 66 points held by Brooklynite, Stephon Marbury. And, in case you forgot or don’t know, Marbury accomplished that feat for the New Jersey Nets 20 years ago during the 1999-00 season. Now, here we are, it’s the 2019-20 NBA season and the script has been flipped. We have Irving, a Jersey guy, leading that same NBA team now residing in Brooklyn.

Irving seems to revel in clutch moments, as evidenced by opening night, Friday night, and during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship series. Irving truly is an elite point guard. Simultaneously, he clearly sees the floor, understands the pace of the game, and controls the pace to the best of his abilities. Tasks all point guards should do, but not all can.

“The game was slowed down probably in the third and fourth quarter a little bit with just the ways the fouls were going back and forth,” Irving said. “Fouls here and there and bonus, so we just wanted to play through it…it’s just opportunities for us to get better from those empty possessions that we had.”

Nets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson on the Game and his Players

Of course, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was delighted that his team got the win.

“Sometimes you have got to find a way and I thought our defensive effort was good,” Coach Atkinson said he told his team after the game. “Take the third quarter out, I thought overall our defense was much, much better.”

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-12 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, with a game-high-tying five assists and one block in 27 minutes. Joe Harris recorded 13 points (5-of-8 FG, 3-of-5 3FG) with four rebounds in 31 minutes. Caris LeVert added 12 points and Taurean Prince chipped in 11 points.

LeVert is arguably the Brooklyn Nets second-best shooter so there was some head-scratching as to why LeVert only played 24 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes or more and particularly, down the stretch.

“I just felt comfortable with Spencer (Dinwiddie), more from a defensive standpoint,” Coach Atkinson told the media. “I thought Spencer was one of our better defenders. Just felt it…we went with our gut.”

New York Knicks Scoring Leaders

The Knicks had six players to score in double digits. Allonzo Trier scored a team-high 22 points and three rebounds off the bench; RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox II each had 16 points, Knox as part of the 2nd Unit, and Barrett, a member of the starting five, added three rebounds to his tally; Julius Randle tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists; Marcus Morris added 11 points, and; Elfrid Payton contributed 10 points and four rebounds.

Knicks Head Coach David Fizdale

In the loss, New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale lauded his team’s fight and ability to hang on to make it a close finish.

“We have grit," Fizdale said about his team’s competitive spirit. “We have grit. We just have to put it together with consistent play and trust.”

But what made it a really close call for the Nets towards the end, is when Fizdale decided to put Wayne Ellington in the game. Ellington used to play for the Nets before being traded to the Miami Heat. And, Ellington was a 3-point assassin when he played for the Nets, and he displayed his talents last night, scoring nine points in 11 minutes on 3-of-4 shooting. Ellington had two other opportunities to score, but prior to getting off a shot, he turned the ball over. Perhaps, had Fizdale brought Ellington into the game earlier, maybe there would have been a different outcome.

What's Next?

Like the Nets, there are 80 more games on the schedule for the New York Knicks. Perhaps, they will get a win against the Boston Celtics at their home opener tonight, Saturday, October 26, 2019, at Madison Square Garden, at 7:30 p.m.

The Brooklyn Nets’ next game is in Memphis against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, October 27, 2019, and then they will be back at home at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, to take on the Indiana Pacers at 7:30 p.m.

TIP-INS:

By the Numbers: How The Nets Defeated the New York Knicks

• The Nets led the Knicks 32-23 at the end of the first quarter
• Brooklyn led New York 94-83 through three quarters 
• The Nets outrebounded the Knicks 46-39
• Brooklyn edged New York 21-13 in fast-break points
• The Nets shot 10-of-12 from the FT line. Brooklyn attempted that many free throws in an opening period just once, all last season. When? On January 25, 2019, against the Knicks (also 10-of-12).