It wasn’t even shut.
If we’re going by the late, legendary Kobe Bryant’s definition, a rivalry is simply a rivalry if each groups concerned beat one another every so often.
The Knicks haven’t overwhelmed the Nets since earlier than the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
That didn’t change on Wednesday evening.
The so-called cross-borough rivalry is as lopsided as the ultimate rating was simply hours after Nets GM Sean Marks launched Jacque Vaughn as Steve Nash’s full-time substitute at head coach. The Nets outworked the Knicks on each ends of the ground, moved the ball, made open photographs and received stops persistently of their 112-85 blowout victory at Barclays Center on Wednesday.
“Regardless of each team’s record, it’s always going to be a rivalry regardless of who’s on the floor,” mentioned star ahead Kevin Durant. “There’s always gonna be a rivalry because the fans in New York City are so passionate and they love sports so much that there’s always gonna be competition.”
It was one other efficiency that underscored the very cause Marks felt comfy selling Vaughn within the first place. The Nets (5-7) are actually 3-2 in video games Vaughn has coached and have gained three of their final 4 video games.
Knicks followers in attendance sporting the vaunted orange and blue by no means received an opportunity to get into the sport as a result of the Nets blew it vast open within the opening minutes of the primary quarter.
The solely time they had been audible was within the fourth quarter, as they grew stressed whereas Brooklyn’s lead ballooned to greater than 30. Knicks followers started booing Evan Fournier after he bricked a wide-open three off the backboard from the left wing.
“You f—king suck!” one Knicks fan shouted from the stands after the miss.
A video of Durant jawing backwards and forwards with Knicks followers went viral on Twitter early into the sport. Durant improved his private report towards the Knicks to 21-3 all-time. He is now 8-0 towards them since becoming a member of the Nets a number of summers in the past.
“As long as I’ve got a Nets jersey on I’m always — if I see a Knicks fan, I’m always gonna give them a thumbs down or just give them some s—t about being a Knicks fan,” mentioned Durant. “So it only adds to the rivalry and the fans feel more engaged if they see a player engaged in the rivalry as well. So it’s all in fun.”
There had been tons of misses — 59 to be precise — for the Knicks and never practically as many for the Nets, led by Durant, whose means to repeatedly make photographs over Julius Randle’s contest pressured Randle to carry his head down in disbelief.
Durant and Randle steadily went at one another, matched-up because the opposing captains of New York’s two professional basketball groups. On one possession, Durant shot a 3 over Randle’s hand, and the 2 laughed on the way in which again up the court docket as soon as the shot went in.
Those laughs solely continued, nonetheless, for one staff. Durant completed with 29 factors, 12 rebounds and 12 assists however received assist from 4 different teammates who every scored in double figures. Meanwhile, Randle led the Knicks with 24 factors, however the Knicks struggled to generate photographs in Tom Thibodeau’s stagnant offense.
Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett had been the one different Knicks gamers to attain in double figures.
The Nets by no means trailed of their wire-to-wire victory. A lot of elements had been at play as they ran up the rating in one other victory that brings the Nets nearer to .500.
The ball just about by no means caught for the Nets on Wednesday evening, aside from when Durant used possessions as his private mission to go at Randle early into the sport.
The Nets registered 30 assists — with Durant tallying 12 — on 42 made discipline objectives. Eight completely different gamers recorded a minimum of one help.
Some of it’s addition by subtraction: Without Irving, a ball-dominant scorer, the Nets have needed to rating by committee. Most importantly, nonetheless, it’s the improved Brooklyn protection that has created extra scoring alternatives by sheer advantage of the staff not going towards a set protection each time up the ground.
That protection will likely be examined because the Nets get set to embark on a four-game West Coast highway journey towards each star-studded Los Angeles groups and Damian Lillard’s Portland Trail Blazers.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com