Can the Knicks play the Nets every night?
For one night at least, they found the perfect medicine.
With their season beginning to go off the rails, a matchup against their personal punching bag came at the perfect time.
They blew out the Nets 120-66 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, putting an end to their four-game skid.
The 54-point margin is their largest ever, by a lot — their previous high was 48 points, which they accomplished three times in 1993-94, 1972-73 and 1968-69.
Perhaps a historic rout can be what is needed to reset their season.
It marked the Knicks’ 13th straight win over the Nets, a streak that dates back to the 2022-23 season.
The Knicks (26-18) spoke at length about a lack of effort after their embarrassing loss to the Mavericks on Monday.
Jalen Brunson challenged his teammates to “care” more than they had been showing. Coach Mike Brown demanded his players “do your f–king job.”
They came out like a team that heard those messages.
They picked up ball-handlers a bit further up the court. There was more intensity on the defensive end, conceding fewer open 3-pointers.
There was more aggression on the offensive end from the non-Brunson stars. There were more “sprays” — drives into the lane leading to kickouts for open 3-pointers, which are foundational to Brown’s system.
There were actual cheers around MSG, something that had rarely been heard in recent weeks. Finally, the vibes were lifted.
But this is not exactly a great litmus test — this matchup has been a mismatch for a while now.
And the Nets, who now sit 18 games under .500 and whose own owner was more concerned with draft position than wins before the season, likely won’t be too bent out of shape getting bullied by their inner-city rivals again.
With four rookies in their rotation, they are at the polar opposite end of the contending spectrum.
The real test of whether the Knicks have turned a new leaf will come on Saturday, when they travel to Philadelphia to play the 76ers — whom they are 0-2 against.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
