Knicks bury Nets in fourth quarter for 15th straight win in the series, 103-90

The Knicks spent three quarters struggling against a 1-6 Brooklyn team, then took over the game in the fourth. Down 79-75 going into the final period at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, New York outscored the Nets 28-11 the rest of the way and won 103-90. That is 15 straight wins over Brooklyn, a run that dates to 2023.

The win gets the Knicks to 3-4. It also changes the shape of the early season. After an 0-3 start, the defending champions have won three of their last four. According to the New York Post, the turn came with Jalen Brunson on the bench. Mike Brown went to a backcourt of Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson, and the Knicks went from four points down to 10 up in about four minutes. OG Anunoby scored eight of his 18 points in the first six minutes of the quarter. Josh Hart pushed the pace and finished with eight points and seven assists. Clarkson carried the offense late.

The New York Daily News reported that Brooklyn shot 3-for-16 in the fourth and turned it over seven times. That is a sharp drop for a team that had won the third quarter 35-24, mostly behind Michael Porter Jr. The Daily News also noted that it was the Nets' first lead over the Knicks going into a fourth quarter since January 2024. Julius Randle, the former Knicks All-Star, led Brooklyn with 21 points but needed 16 shots to score them.

On the New York side, the box score still has some worrying numbers. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 16 rebounds. Brunson scored 19 but shot 6-for-16, and the Post called him inefficient again. Mikal Bridges went 1-for-7 for six points and played only three minutes of the second half. Through a messy first half, the Knicks shot 36 percent and still led by seven at the break, mostly thanks to free throws. Hart didn't treat the result as a fix. He told the Post that the offense still has to find a better flow and that "a win doesn't erase the problem."

What it means for Chicago on Wednesday

The Bulls come to the Garden on Wednesday, November 4, and the Knicks have already beaten them once. Their 133-127 win in Chicago was the most points they have scored this season and their only game over 111. The Knicks have been held to 103 or fewer in five of their seven games, and their four losses came by four, five, six and nine points. With an offense like that, a few empty possessions are enough to lose.

The question for Brown is whether Monday's fourth-quarter lineups change his rotation, especially if Bridges keeps struggling and Clarkson and Kolek keep producing. At home the Knicks are 2-2, with losses to Philadelphia and Orlando followed by wins over Detroit and Brooklyn. If they beat Chicago again, they get back to .500. That would mean six wins in their last eight games after the 0-3 start.