The slightly injured Brooklyn Nets' first New York Knicks matchup of the 2024-25 season was a roller coaster. Brooklyn went down by as many as 22 points but battled back and nearly stole the game from New York. It was none other than former starting forward Mikal Bridges who sealed the Knicks' win.
The Nets fought to the point of being down 121-119 with less than 20 seconds left in the game. Brooklyn passed the ball around during a stalled possession and found Dennis Schroder in the corner, who shot and nailed a three-pointer to give the team a 122-121 lead. But New York would not go down easily.
During the next possession, the Knicks inbounded the ball to Jalen Brunson. After a couple of jab steps, Brunson launched his own corner three that went in and helped New York regain a 124-122 lead. The Nets desperately attempted to go the length of the court and score, with Dennis Schroder attempting a last-second layup. However, Mikal Bridges blocked Schroder, helping New York walk away with the win.
Bridges' comments after the game will have Nets fans looking forward to future matchups.
Bridges' competitive spirit should make for more good Nets-Knicks games
When asked how he felt about seeing the Nets again, Bridges gave this positive response:
“It was good to see them. Good competing against them and trash talking
back and forth and it was great to see not just my teammates but the staff and
everybody else," Bridges said, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.
Mikal Bridges ended his first 2024-25 matchup against the Nets with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one clutch block. In addition, he shot a red-hot 57.1 percent (4-for-7) on his three-pointers. It is great to see the forward thriving with his new team.
On the other hand, it was tough to see Brooklyn take another close loss to their crosstown rival. Cam Thomas' 43-points and 70 percent (7-for-10) three-point shooting outing were amazing, but spoiled.
On the bright side, the Nets did a sound job managing the paint in Nic Claxton's absence. Both teams focused on perimeter offense, as the Knicks scored just 13 points in the paint compared to Brooklyn's nine. The Nets did lose their battle of the boards, though, 45-37.
Claxton's absence means Brooklyn must do everything possible to crash the boards harder. The Nets want to rely more on Ben Simmons while Claxton recovers. Simmons totaled seven rebounds in 25 minutes on Friday night. The forward needs to continue to assert himself to help Brooklyn stay afloat.
The Nets will rematch the Knicks at Madison Square Garden at 7 PM EST on Sunday evening.