Kyrie Irving backs up boast as Nets clip Knicks in chippy affair - New York Post

Kyrie Irving boldly stated the Nets’ plan to take over New York. Then he put his game where his mouth was.

Irving made all the plays down the stretch to lead the Nets to a 113-109 come-from-behind victory over the Knicks at Barclays Center for their first win of the season after a crushing season-opening loss Wednesday.

“This is our home,” Irving said with a grin in a postgame on-court interview.

Brooklyn had blown a 19-point cushion, and trailed 109-106 in the waning moments. But Irving (26 points) hit a jumper and then a go-ahead 3-pointer with 22.4 seconds left to turn the tide. When the Nets forced a Julius Randle turnover with 11.2 seconds remaining, they were able to ice the game.

“We got a lot, a lot of goals to accomplish this season. The team is excited. Obviously we know in the months to follow, we got a sleeping, sleeping monster that’s on our team right there,” Irving — referring to the injured Kevin Durant — said Thursday in a video tweeted by @Jengabcel. “So for real, that’s my best friend and I want to send good health to him. But for the time being, we’re going to take over the whole entire city. It’s about us.”

Friday’s game had a playoff atmosphere, with a star-studded crowd that included Spike Lee, Aaron Judge, CC Sabathia, Tracy Morgan, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz. And they saw a thriller — and some chippiness.

Late in the second quarter, the two teams got into a skirmish. Irving drove to the rim late and was denied by Randle, but got his own rebound while sitting on the floor. While Irving tried to figure out what to do with the ball, Bobby Portis came over and tried to wrestle the ball out of his hands or force a jump ball.

Prince did not appear to appreciate Portis’ physicality and came to Irving’s aid, trying to pull Portis off of the new Nets guard. That led to a whole lot of pushing and shoving that took a bit for referees to separate everyone. It did not appear any punches were thrown.

Once the dust had finally settled and replays had been looked at, Portis and Prince were both hit with technical fouls and play resumed.

The Knicks’ lineup looked a little different from the one that blew a late lead two nights earlier in San Antonio. And the juggling nearly got them a win.

“You only get to that place by experimenting and trying to figure it out,” coach David Fizdale said beforehand. “When you got nine new faces, you have to go through some different things to figure out what exactly works first. Once you start getting closer to that, you try to stay closer to those lineups.”

Starting center Mitchell Robinson — listed as questionable with a sprained right ankle that sidelined him against the Spurs — was back in the lineup. And after Fizdale’s experimentation with rookie RJ Barrett at point guard, he handed the keys to veteran Elfrid Payton.
Neither proved enough.

The Nets mounted a 15-2 run that spanned the first and second quarters. The Knicks called a timeout with 11:07 left in the half to stem the tide, but by then the Nets led 37-23 and the damage was done. And most encouraging for Brooklyn, that damage was done with Irving off the floor, and accomplished largely by the bench.

The first time Irving sat in Wednesday’s opener, the Nets immediately coughed up a 25-9 run that cost them in what became a one-point overtime defeat. But against the Knicks, Spencer Dinwiddie (20 points) and the bench padded their cushion to double-figures the first time Irving got a breather.

The Nets pushed the lead to 19 after Taurean Prince opened the second half with consecutive 3-pointers to make it 70-51. But they couldn’t hold that lead.

Irving sat down with 3:19 left in the third and the Nets up 87-73. Coach Kenny Atkinson stole as much time as he could with Irving resting, and brought him back in with 8:04 left to play and the Nets still ahead 102-94. The bench had done its job, but the starters couldn’t do theirs.

With the Nets still ahead 104-94, the Knicks went on a 15-2 tear. Former Net Wayne Ellington came off the bench to punish his former team with a barrage of 3-pointers.

The first pulled the Knicks to within 104-99, and Randle cut it to three with five minutes left. An Ellington 3-pointer knotted it, and another put the Knicks ahead 107-106 with 3:56 to play, their first lead since Randle hit the game’s first basket 25 seconds into play.
But with the Knicks ahead 109-106, Ellington’s travel gave the Nets life. Irving’s pullup got them within a point, and his clutch wing 3-pointer over Barrett’s outstretched hands put the Nets back up 111-109 with 21.9 seconds remaining.

Randle knocked a loose ball out of bounds with 11.2 seconds on the clock to give the Nets the ball and the lead. And Dinwiddie closed the game out at the line.

Allonzo Trier had 22 for the Knicks.

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