Nets at Knicks
The Lopez brothers will clash for the first time as crosstown rivals when the New York Knicks host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Robin Lopez joined the Knicks as a free agent over the summer while Brook is the longest-tenured member of the Nets.
Robin has gotten the better of the nine meetings between the brothers with a 5-4 edge so far and New York comes into the matchup with a chance to get back to .500 after snapping a four-game slide with a 99-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Lopez recorded six points and five rebounds in the win while rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis collected 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Brooklyn secured its first back-to-back wins of the season with triumphs over Detroit and Phoenix at home, and Brook totaled 38 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks in the two contests. Brook leads the Nets in scoring (20.1 points) and blocks (2.22) while fellow veteran Thaddeus Young (15.3 points, 8.4 rebounds) has joined Lopez in trying to pull the Nets out of the early-season swoon.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, YES (Brooklyn), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE NETS (5-13): Brooklyn has won four straight home games but is just 1-10 on the road and is making a brief stop across town before returning for a stretch of six consecutive home games. The Nets enjoyed themselves in Madison Square Garden last season, winning both trips as Lopez averaged 20.5 points. Point guard Deron Williams played a big role in both of those wins but now runs the point in Dallas, leaving Jarrett Jack and former Knick Shane Larkin to combine for an average of 10.5 assists.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (9-10): New York began to pull out of an offensive funk in a 116-111 overtime loss to Houston on Sunday and scored 81 points in the first three quarters of Wednesday’s 99-87 win over Philadelphia despite Carmelo Anthony battling an illness. “This was a game – a must win for us,” Anthony told reporters. “We didn’t want to play with them. … We didn’t want to take any chances with this one.” Anthony settled for 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting in 26 minutes as the Knicks leaned on Porzingis.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets F and former Knick Andrea Bargnani (hamstring) sat out Tuesday and is day-to-day.
2. New York G Arron Afflalo averaged 22 points in the last two games.
3. Brooklyn G Wayne Ellington is 10-of-14 from the floor in the last two games.