For much of Wednesday’s game, it looked as though the New York Knicks would be major spoilers for their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets. But in the second half, the Knicks did what they’ve done a lot of this season — they choked.
New York led Brooklyn 67-50 at halftime. In the opening minute of the third quarter, that lead expanded to 71-50. But that’s where the fun stopped — at least for those cheering for the Knicks. The Nets closed the gap to 82-72 by the end of the third quarter. Brooklyn then dominated the fourth quarter to not only win but win convincingly, 110-98.
Focus shifts to Washington. pic.twitter.com/UVQZHWn27v
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 7, 2022
Brooklyn is locked into a play-in game spot. But where that game will be played is still very much to be determined. A loss would have put the Nets into the No. 9 seed, which would mean the play-in game would be on the road. Now, Brooklyn is tied for the No. 8 seed with the Atlanta Hawks and has the tiebreaker. So, if the Nets can hold that spot over the season’s final two games, they’ll host the play-in game.
Furthermore, the Nets are only one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the No. 7 seed. The two teams play on Friday night. A win from Brooklyn would lock up a 3-1 season-series win over Cleveland and guarantee a tiebreaker.
So, it was a big win for the Nets.
For the Knicks, the loss wasn’t especially meaningful. New York is out of postseason contention. If anything, losing can only help New York’s draft positioning.
And if this was a normal loss, that might have been the attitude of many fans. But given the significant lead that the Knicks blew, New York’s fans weren’t looking at this as a “glass-half-full” situation.
At halftime The New York Knickerbockers were up by 17 points (67-50), to lose to the Brooklyn Nets. #BKvsNYK #Knicks #KnicksTape https://t.co/dVKZLzQUhI
— ThomasJenkins (@InsomniacMag) April 7, 2022
Focus needs to shift to the off-season cause y’all stink https://t.co/xKBtcJzHP3
— Jose (@jriv0615) April 7, 2022
Worthless af https://t.co/jAvgmD6xzA
— Matt 🛒 (@EastPointMadeMe) April 7, 2022
what a competent human sees vs what thibs sees https://t.co/zGQvtvnSgH pic.twitter.com/sEu5gtwBvH
— Con Artest 🇬🇩 (@ReekTalince) April 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/kylemaggio/status/1511887800563556356
A trademark Knicks selljob tonight
At one point leading by 21, the Knicks lose the series finale vs the Nets 110-98.
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) April 7, 2022
The Knicks pic.twitter.com/8fygemTL0t
— Overtime (@overtime) April 7, 2022
If there’s any good news for the Knicks and their fans, the season will be over in only two games.
