Top Takeaways from Julius Randle, Knicks vs. Kevin Durant, Nets

Welcome to the Kevin Durant show.

The 12-time All-Star was brilliant Sunday and led the Brooklyn Nets to a 110-107 victory over the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. He dropped 53 points on 19-of-37 shooting from the floor while also adding nine assists, six rebounds and two steals just for good measure.

Brooklyn was without Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons and Seth Curry, but it didn't matter with Durant dialed in from the start.

The Nets are now 35-33 following their third straight victory and will look to keep things rolling on the road Tuesday against the Orlando Magic.

The Knicks put up a fight, with Julius Randle (26 points, four rebounds and four assists), RJ Barrett (24 points, three steals and two assists) and Evan Fournier (25 points and five assists) all playing well in defeat, but they dropped to 28-40 with their second straight loss.

New York is five games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with just 14 games remaining. Next up is a matchup at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

Play-In Tournament Not a Guarantee for Nets

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

The Nets came into the 2021-22 campaign with championship-or-bust expectations, with Durant, Irving and James Harden leading the way, but the season has gone anything but expected.

Durant and Harden were each sidelined by injuries for stretches, and the latter has since been traded away to the Philadelphia 76ers. What's more, Irving is still ineligible to play in home games because he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19, which leaves Brooklyn without a seven-time All-Star for half its games.

The result has been an up-and-down struggle that seemingly had Brooklyn as a lock to make the play-in tournament for the Nos. 7-10 seeds in the Eastern Conference, but the recent three-game winning streak has changed the trajectory of the team.

Brooklyn is now just 3.5 games behind a sixth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers squad that is missing All-Star big man Jarrett Allen due to a finger injury. The Cavaliers are just 3-8 in their last 11 as they deal with some of the attrition Brooklyn has fought all season, and the Nets have something they don't have in a healthy Durant.

Durant was unguardable as he put the team on his back against the Knicks while elevating for jump shots over multiple defenders, attacking the lane and facilitating when necessary. It reached a point that New York sent double teams to meet him at half-court on multiple possessions in crunch time and let the rest of the offense play four-on-three.

Perhaps the only thing scarier for the other Eastern Conference contenders than seeing Durant go off like that was the fact it came after the Nets destroyed the 76ers by 29 points in their previous game. This uber-talented team is starting to come together around its future Hall of Famer, and it could get even better if Simmons does take the court.

It still faces the Magic, Trail Blazers, Hornets, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Knicks and Indiana Pacers in winnable games down the stretch, plus it has a head-to-head matchup with the Cavaliers.

The opportunity is there for the Nets to play their way out of the play-in tournament, although they will also have to pass a seventh-seeded Toronto Raptors squad they trail by 2.5 games.

If Durant plays like he did Sunday and the team gets a little healthier around him, few rosters in the NBA can match Brooklyn's star power.

Knicks Continue to Put Up a Fight

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

It would have been easy for the Knicks to fold during their seven-game road trip that ended with the loss to the Nets.

After all, the playoffs are a long shot at this point, and they faced the 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Nets in six of those games. That is six playoff teams, many of whom are in championship-or-bust mode at this stage.

Yet New York lost by a single point to the Suns only after Randle was ejected, battled back to win three straight against the Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Mavericks, and then lost by a combined seven points to the Grizzlies and Nets.

They even went on a 9-0 run to turn a 101-94 deficit into a 103-101 lead in the final five minutes of Sunday's game, with Randle and Barrett getting to the rim and Fournier drilling a three-pointer. It was a valiant effort that was spoiled by Durant drilling a three-pointer and four free throws in the final minute alone to give Brooklyn the win.

Barrett and Randle each attempted to match Durant down the stretch with key plays, and the energy level was apparent in the fourth quarter during the comeback effort.

While it fell short, it was also the type of inspired effort that has largely been missing for much of the season. 

New York now returns home for four straight games in something of a last-gasp attempt to climb back into the play-in tournament race, and Sunday was something to build on even in defeat. If Barrett, Randle and Fournier play like they did against the Nets, perhaps the Knicks can make one final charge before the end of the campaign.