Jalen Brunson scores 40 points in Knicks first win against Nets in three years

There is now Jalen Brunson in that location. By slicing the Nets defence to give the Knicks their first victory against the crosstown foe in more than three years, 124-106, the point guard continued to show why the NBA disqualified him from the All-Star game. In his previous nine games, Brunson has averaged 31.9 points, a run of offensive domination that has the Knicks (32-27) in striking distance of the top-6 in the East as the All-Star break approaches. Brunson completed the game with 40 points. The Garden crowd yelled "MVP, MVP" as Brunson stepped to the line for his 40th point, the third time in the previous 18 games that he had done so. The presence and vigour of Josh Hart, a rookie, gave the Knicks another boost to end a nine-game losing run to the Nets in the fourth quarter. Hart, who came off the bench and scored a season-high 27 points in only 28 minutes, enthralled the fans with his quickness and exuberant celebrations. With no turnovers and five assists, Brunson had a 15 for 21 shooting percentage. All-Star Julius Randle finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. With seven minutes left, the Knicks jumped up to a double-digit advantage and never looked back.Of course, the key difference in the contest on Tuesday was who wasn't representing the Nets. The competition was more lopsided than the sugar to vegetable ratio on a 7-year-favourite old's plate because Durant was in the outer borough. Durant individually hasn't suffered a defeat to the Knicks since he played for the OKC Thunder in 2013. Since they only had to play Durant twice a year in the Western Conference, it's safe to assume that the Knicks were ecstatic to see him return (or probably fewer, based on his injury history). Tom Thibodeau would never declare himself content. Thibodeau remarked, "We've played some pretty strong games against them.

"Most games have been decided by the final shot." They make a great team. They already have and will continue to have highly great players. We must be prepared to play aggressively on both sides of the ball.In fact, the Nets (33-24) are still more of a reloaded roster than a team in need of a makeover. With an abundance of 3-and-D wings (Mikal Bridges, Royce O'Neale, and Dorian Finney-Smith), a rim-protecting centre (Nic Claxton), and a couple scorers, they appear to have playoff potential (Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Thomas, and Joe Harris). Sean Marks' major errors are still being smelled by Ben Simmons. None of the current Nets players has Irving's or Durant's offensive excellence or greatness. They aren't taking home a trophy. But would they be able to advance? Sure. Could they continue to lead the East over the Knicks? Yeah. Therefore, the Knicks weren't slouches on Tuesday. They outclassed a competent team. Additionally, Brunson demonstrated his claim to fame as the City of basketball.