Copyright New York Daily News
Good luck billing this as a rivalry. For the 11th straight time, the Knicks dragged their little-brother neighbors to the woodshed. They walked into Sunday’s borough-to-borough matchup with a top-five NBA offense and a three-game home winning streak — and walked out with yet another rout over a Nets team that entered the night with eight times as many losses as wins. The result? As expected: A resounding 134-98 victory at Madison Square Garden — and another 40-point quarter, their league-leading sixth this season. Five miles separate The Garden from Barclays Center. On the floor, the gap couldn’t be wider. This rivalry, once buzzing with potential, has flatlined — buried beneath Brooklyn’s failed superteam experiment and the Knicks’ steady rise into a contender. At this point, the two teams only share a coaching tree: Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez credits Mike Brown for discovering him in Spain and giving him his first big break as an associate as Brown was head coach in Sacramento. But it was only three years ago that “Broooooklyn!” chants echoed through The Garden. Only three years ago that the Nets looked like the NBA’s next dynasty — armed with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. That dream lasted about 16 games. Then Irving’s foot landed on Giannis’ in the playoffs. Harden’s hamstring gave out. And Durant’s toe grazed the three-point line in a Game 7 that changed everything. Irving refused to get vaccinated. Harden forced his way to Philadelphia, and the Nets took Ben Simmons back in the deal. Case closed. Window, too. Those days feel like a distant past. Now it’s the Knicks living the dream — minus the chaos. These Knicks are what the Nets never became: cohesive, competitive, and built to last. Their biggest issues are on the court, not in tabloids. And while they work through Mike Brown’s uptempo system, there’s a clear direction. As for the Nets? This is Michael Porter Jr.’s team now — and everyone else is just renting minutes. Porter, acquired in the Cam Johnson trade, is the hero Brooklyn deserves after punting on Durant, Irving, Harden, Simmons, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. The former Nuggets forward was the only player at MSG with a greener light than Knicks sixth man Jordan Clarkson. Around him? A cast built for the long game — or rather, the 2026 draft. Last year’s 26 wins were 25 too many, and Fernandez is such a sharp coach, the Nets had to give him the dullest possible roster. Which brings us back to Sunday’s blowout and the reality of a dead rivalry between two teams separated by three bridges and a world of difference. The Knicks are now 112–107 all-time against the Nets, including a 27–25 edge since Brooklyn’s move from Jersey. The last time the Nets beat the Knicks? Durant and Simmons sat. Irving dropped 32 points and nine assists in a win over Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. Now, it’s the Knicks who have all the star power. They poached Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn, landed OG Anunoby in a deal with Toronto, and swung a blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns out of Minnesota. Jalen Brunson has ascended into full-blown superstar status — the undisputed 1A at Madison Square Garden — and the Knicks are on track for their third straight 50-win season. Of course, regular-season wins now matter far more to a Nets team trying to avoid them, than a Knicks team focused on peaking in April and playing into June. Brooklyn could find itself back in the mix — eventually. At least that’s the glass half full speaking. This season, they’re all-in on the lottery, hoping to land the No. 1 overall pick, potentially BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, a franchise-altering prospect. And it likely won’t stop there. The Rockets hold swap rights on Brooklyn’s 2027 first-rounder, but the Nets control their own pick in 2028. It could be another chance at a top prospect if the Draft Lottery balls don’t fall their way next summer. Or maybe the Nets swing big again. Sean Marks has long been drawn to stars with something to prove, and the NBA landscape shifts by the hour. No one saw the Luka Doncic trade coming. Towns to New York caught plenty off guard. With draft capital and movable contracts in hand, who’s to say the Nets won’t chase a player like Ja Morant if he hits the market? And if the Nets are able to try their hand at another star, who’s to say this time they don’t get it right? A true headliner calling Barclays Center home — that might be the only thing capable of breathing life back into this cross-bridge rivalry. Just don’t count on it happening anytime soon. New York City has always been a Knicks city, but once upon a time, the Nets made it competitive. They’ve been anything but to start the year, as is the state of the good-old Knicks-Nets rivalry At least Brooklyn’s got that good old culture. Not that it’s done much for the win-loss column.
