The winner on a Friday night on Atlantic Avenue was Kyrie Irving. The other winner was the Knicks-Nets rivalry. Because it has finally arrived.
If the Nets are going to take over the city as Irving boasted Thursday, at least the Knicks will not go down without a fight. There were more Nets fans at Barclays Center than Knicks fans, but there was no louder sound than when Wayne Ellington sank two straight 3-pointers. Those shots sparked the Knicks’ wild rally from 19 points down, helping them grab the lead with 3:45 left.
However, that decibel reading on this raucous night may have been topped when Irving turned superstar, backing up his Thursday bravado. He hit two clutch jumpers in the final 59 seconds, including that game-winning step-back 3 over Knicks’ prized rookie RJ Barrett with 22.4 seconds left in the 113-109 Nets victory.
Barrett and Irving, two guys from Duke, now the faces of separate New York franchises, going mano-a-mano at the close. Not a bad night of theatre in Brooklyn.
“He earned it,’’ Barrett said. “Great player, champion. Great players make great plays. That’s what he did tonight. Same shot he hit to win the championship against Golden State [in 2016]. It was tough. I was right there. Nothing else you can do about that.’’
The Knicks had the grand opportunity Friday of changing the narrative of their Brooklyn bummer-of-a-summer. And they didn’t quite get it done because of Irving’s heroics, feeling the pain of the star point guard who got away.
Barrett’s face lit up when asked about the frenzied atmosphere.
“It was great, especially as a 19-year-old, that’s the atmosphere you want to play in,’’ Barrett said. “I’m very honored I got to play in this game.’’
The night was crazed for 48 minutes and the Nets’ designated cheering section was in rare form.
“We got KD and Ky-rie!’’ … “You got Dolan!’’ … “Where is Porzing-is!”
Those fans got the last laugh as the Knicks now take their 0-2 record into a home opener Saturday versus Boston.
Looking at the bright side for Knicks fans, they nearly stole this one despite 26 turnovers and Julius Randle playing about as badly as he can play, shooting 5 of 15 with six turnovers, including losing the ball out of bounds with 11 seconds left as he looked to answer Irving’s dagger.
“Says a lot about our group,’’ Randle said of the club fighting to the end without his usual production.
Knicks coach David Fizdale chalked up Randle’s lousy night to “pressing.’’ Both losses have come in games the Knicks led in the fourth quarter after making big comebacks — 17 down in San Antonio, 19 behind Friday.
“We have grit,’’ Fizdale said. “We have depth. We just got to get them all to play on the same night.’’
Irving had ratcheted this renewed rivalry up at Thursday’s promotional event when he acknowledged Kevin Durant’s absence and added: “But for the time being, we’re going to take over the whole entire city. It’s about us.’’
It’s clear these two teams don’t like each other. There was a skirmish, sparked by Knicks center Bobby Portis, who yanked several times at the ball as Irving sat prone on the court after a hard foul by Randle. Pushing, shoving and technicals ensued.
In the fourth quarter, ex-Knick DeAndre Jordan and Barrett battled for a loose ball on the ground with Jordan ripping it away violently, standing up and getting Marcus Morris in his craw. These Knicks are going to stand up.
“Huge positives,’’ Fizdale said. “The fact we don’t lay down is a really big thing in this league. When you’re never out of a game, that’s a good quality to have.’’
The bad quality is the Knicks don’t have a point guard close to Irving’s stature. Fizdale still can’t figure out his point-guard soap opera, looking like he’ll play Walt Frazier before Dennis Smith Jr., who was benched in the second half, or Frank Ntilikina, who was benched for the whole game.
Fizdale started Elfrid Payton, but he didn’t have the magic touch like in San Antonio. As a result, Barrett got a lot of point-guard time in the second half and closed the game.
But it was Irving who closed, like he does. After the final buzzer, Irving flipped the ball to rapper Fat Joe, a Knicks fan.
“I love this, man,’’ Irving said on the court. “It’s our home.”
The Nets may finally have one.
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