Spencer Dinwiddie Pours in 30 as Nets Beat Crosstown Rival Knicks Without Kyrie
The Brooklyn Nets gutted out their third straight win without Kyrie Irving as they topped the New York Knicks 103-101 Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden.
Irving missed the contest with a right shoulder injury. The 27-year-old All-Star guard last played on Nov. 14. Brooklyn was also without guard Caris LeVert, who is nursing a thumb injury.
The Knicks, meanwhile, were without rookie third overall pick RJ Barrett because of illness.
New York had cut the Nets' lead to 98-97 with over a minute remaining in regulation when Joe Harris' layup padded Brooklyn's lead. Harris' and center Jarrett Allen's trips to the free-throw line down the stretch were just enough to squeak out a win in a game that once saw the Nets lead by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks have lost four straight to the Nets dating back to Dec. 8, 2018. With Sunday's result, Brooklyn improved to 8-8 on the season while New York fell to 4-13.
Notable Stats
BKN G Spencer Dinwiddie: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
BKN C Jarrett Allen: 18 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
BKN F Taurean Prince: 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists
BKN G Joe Harris: 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
BKN G Garrett Temple: 12 points, 2 steals
NYK F Marcus Morris Sr.: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
NYK F Julius Randle: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
NYK G Frank Ntilikina: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists
NYK G Dennis Smith Jr.: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Spencer Dinwiddie Carries Nets Without Kyrie Irving
Dinwiddie secured his fifth 20-point game in a row, perpetuating a career-best streak set Friday.
The 26-year-old had 19 points by halftime on 50 percent shooting from the field (5-of-10, 3-of-7 from three) and finished with 30:
Dinwiddie has been valuable outside of his scoring, too. In three of these Irving-less games for Brooklyn, he led the team in assists. Entering this game, Dinwiddie was averaging 18.9 points, 5.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds across 27.7 minutes.
Dinwiddie's importance to the team was highlighted by a 10-0 Knicks run while he was on the bench at the end of the first quarter:
Once returning to the floor, Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince scored the Nets' final 20 points of the first half. While that speaks to Dinwiddie's impact, it also spoke to Brooklyn's lack of depth. Dinwiddie, Prince and 21-year-old center Jarrett Allen combined for 62 points, while the bench contributed just 16.
That didn't cost the Nets in this particular game, as the defense nearly held its third consecutive opponent to under 100 points. This time around without Irving, the Nets' opponents so far have a combined 31-46 record.
Moving forward, as Sports Illustrated's Rob Lep pointed out, Dinwiddie's ability to seamlessly fill in for an oft-injured Irving is the most encouraging aspect of his current run and especially so when considering the Nets' lack of other options:
"No one is going to argue on who they'd rather have between Irving and Dinwiddie, but the last four games have been a throwback to the Dinwiddie that Nets fans fell in love with one year ago.
"With Kyrie's injury history, having never played a full 82 games during any season in his 9-year NBA career, the consistency and stability of the Los Angeles native to be able to come in relief for a star like Irving, and the team not miss a beat, should make the organization very excited."
Should Irving have to miss extended time again sometime down the line, head coach Kenny Atkinson can feel confident in Dinwiddie leading the way and helping to mask other deficiencies. However, the Nets will need more in order to hold their own against tougher competition.
Knicks Continue to Lose Ground in the Battle of New York
First, the Knicks lost out on Irving and Kevin Durant in free agency to the Brooklyn Nets.
Then, the Knicks lost to the Nets without both stars.
It's almost impossible to argue with what Durant told Ebro in the Morning on Oct. 8:
"I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players who, in their lifetime, don't remember the Knicks being good. ... I've seen the Knicks in the Finals, but kids coming up after me didn't see that. That whole brand of the Knicks to them is not as cool as let's say the Golden State Warriors or even the Lakers or the Nets now. The cool thing right now is not the Knicks."
Retired 17-year NBA veteran Richard Jefferson jokingly added salt to the wound on the game's YES Network broadcast:
This loss to the Nets was just the latest in what has been a downtrodden start to the season for the Knicks. Earlier this month, a 108-87 loss to Cleveland compelled team president Steve Mills to meet with reporters and discuss the state of the franchise.
After missing out on the opportunity to take Zion Williamson with the top overall pick in this year's NBA draft, New York selected Barrett at No. 3 overall. The 19-year-old guard was out ill against the Nets. Starting in his place, Knicks 2018 ninth overall pick Kevin Knox II was held to just five points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field.
That makes it difficult to be optimistic about the Knicks' future.
New York nearly came back from 11 points behind in the fourth quarter to win, as Frank Ntilikina missed an open three-pointer with 44.6 seconds left in regulation that would have tied the game. How the game actually ended felt more fitting to the overarching narrative surrounding the Knicks:
What's Next?
Brooklyn will travel to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, and New York will head north to take on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
