Knicks Break Losing Streak, Cruise By Brooklyn 115-96
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Tim Hardaway Jr. had 25 points and eight assists, and the New York Knicks rolled to their second win of the season, beating the Brooklyn Nets 115-96 on Monday night.
Frank Ntilikina added 16 points and Enes Kanter had 15 points and 15 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who had dropped five straight since beating Atlanta in their season opener.
They ended their skid emphatically, outscoring the Nets 59-41 over the middle two quarters and leading by as many as 25 points.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 points for the Nets, who dropped their third straight. They were coming off a close loss to Golden State on Sunday, and either didn't have legs left or didn't put forth much effort, getting beaten to loose balls and unable to slow the Knicks in transition in the third quarter.
The Nets beat the Knicks 107-105 on Oct. 19 on Caris LeVert's layup with a second to play. This time, LeVert was 2 for 11 for just four points.
The game began to swing just before halftime, when Hardaway had a couple baskets in an 8-0 spurt that pushed a two-point edge to 52-42.
That was nothing to what happened when they came back from the break.
Rookie Mitchell Robinson's steal and dunk capped a quick run of six points that made it 58-44 and led to a Nets timeout that did nothing to halt the Knicks' momentum. Hardaway made a 3 and soon after threw a lob that Robinson slammed down to make it 69-48. The Nets took their third timeout of the quarter when Damyean Dotson made a layup while being fouled as the lead ballooned to 75-50.
TIP-INS:
Nets: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 16 points. Brooklyn was 11 for 38 (29 percent) from 3-point range after making 44.3 percent over its last five games.
Knicks: Coach David Fizdale kept the same starting lineup he used Friday against Golden State, with Hardaway, Ntilikina, Dotson and Robinson joined by Noah Vonleh. Hardaway's face was bloodied on a possession late in the first half and he left the court but was back after halftime.
RASHEED'S ROLE:
Rasheed Wallace, who finished his career with the Knicks in 2013, was in practice over the weekend and worked with rookie big man Robinson. Fizdale called Wallace one of the smartest players he's ever been around and hoped he could teach the second-round pick how to be vocal on defense. Fizdale added that Wallace would be with the team a couple more days and he'd like to have other veterans work with his young team, saying the Knicks have talked to Chauncey Billups about coming.
UP NEXT:
The Nets head back to Brooklyn to host Detroit on Wednesday.
The Knicks host Indiana on Wednesday.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)