Shamet Leads Knicks Past Winless Nets, 103-90
Landry Shamet dropped a game-high 22 points as the Knicks handled the Nets 103-90, keeping Brooklyn winless on the season. The Nets haven't beaten the Knicks since January 2023, and Tuesday night did nothing to change that.
Brooklyn actually looked like the sharper team early. Michael Porter Jr. opened the scoring with a 16-foot pullup, Julius Randle assisted, and the Nets pushed it to 7-3 before New York blinked. Then Jalen Brunson took over. He buried a 25-foot three off a Josh Hart assist, then immediately hit another 25-footer — this one a step-back — to flip the lead to 13-7. Brooklyn answered with a Porter three and a Nolan Traore triple to tie it at 13, but the Knicks kept finding answers. Shamet hit a pair of free throws late in the first, Miles McBride knocked down back-to-back threes, and New York closed the quarter up 27-21.
The second quarter was Brooklyn's best stretch. Randle scored on back-to-back possessions to cut it to 27-25, Noah Clowney tied it, and Keon Ellis drained a 24-footer to put the Nets ahead 30-27 — their last lead of the night. New York clawed back through Shamet free throws and a Brunson 26-footer, and the teams traded punches until halftime with the Knicks clinging to a slim edge. The decisive moment came in the fourth: Josh Hart connected on a 25-foot three assisted by Tyler Kolek, swinging the home win probability from 54% to 64% — a 10-point swing that, in hindsight, looks like the moment Brooklyn's resistance finally cracked.
Randle finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a losing effort — the kind of performance that looks like a man playing for something on a team that hasn't found its footing yet. Porter added 18 points and Traore chipped in 17, but Brooklyn's supporting cast couldn't sustain the pressure. On the New York side, Brunson was efficient with 19 points and 6 assists, and OG Anunoby contributed 18 points, 2 steals, and a block. Five Brooklyn players — Danny Wolf, Terance Mann, Drake Powell, Pacome Dadiet, and James Wiseman — were all listed as DNPs by coach's decision, limiting the Nets' rotation depth at a moment when they could least afford it. Brooklyn entered this game as the East's last winless team, and nothing about a 13-point road loss changes that trajectory. The Knicks, meanwhile, look like exactly what they're supposed to be: a team that takes care of business at home.