The year's final New York Knicks-Brooklyn Nets matchup ended with a heated scuffle between the crosstown rivals. In the closing seconds of the Knicks' 111-107 comeback win Friday, Cam Thomas pushed Jalen Brunson from behind on an intentional foul.

O.G. Anunoby took exception, getting in Thomas' face as the two exchanged words. Thomas' Nets teammates eventually pushed Anunoby away and both players were issued technical fouls.

The Madison Square Garden crowd appreciated Anunoby stepping in for Brunson, changing “OG! OG! OG!” after the play. While Anunoby and Knicks fans were unhappy with the foul, Thomas said postgame that it was a flop by Brunson, shrugging off the altercation.

“It was a foul. Then he just fell and over-exaggerated,” Thomas said. “I was just going the other way [after]. I don’t pay nobody no mind. Nobody's doing nothing [to me] on court. So he just over-exaggerated the flop, so kudos to him for that. Got me a tech on that too, I don’t like that.”

Anunoby had a different interpretation of the play.

“I just asked what that was about. I thought it was an excessive push,” he said. “I don’t ever want to see a teammate be pushed. That’s it, nothing more.”

While Brunson said he appreciated Anunoby's support, he admitted his teammate has a historically short temper.

“It means a lot,” he said of Anunoby stepping in. “Yeah, he is known for getting overly animated.”

Anunoby and Brunson got the win, but Thomas got the better of them, at least on the offensive end. With only nine available players for the Nets, the third-year guard scored 41 points on 15-of-26 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 from three and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Cam Thomas makes history

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) reacts after fouling New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the second half at Madison Square Garden.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

It was the highest-scoring game of all-time by a Nets player at Madison Square Garden, beating Bernard King's 40-point showing on February 24, 1979. Thomas became the sixth player 22 years old or younger to score 40-plus points at MSG, joining Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Nikola Jokic, Kyrie Irving and Trae Young.

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Brunson led the Knicks with 30 points and 11 assists on 10-of-25 shooting. After New York trailed by 17 in the first half, Anunoby helped spark a third-quarter comeback with his defense and three-point shooting. He finished with 15 points and two steals on 6-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from three.

With the win, New York sweeps the four-game season series with Brooklyn. The Knicks have won the last six matchups between the crosstown rivals after the Nets won nine straight during Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's tenure.

While two of the Knicks' wins this season came by double digits, they had to come from behind in the other two, something Thomas pointed to when asked about the lopsidedness of the rivalry.

“It all takes its turn. At first, we were beating them a lot, and now they’re on their little run. So I just look at it as times turn,” he said. “The last game was a blowout, but every game we’ve been in it, it’s been close. Then in the fourth quarter or the second half they just go on their run and it’s kinda tough to come back from, but every game we’ve been in.”

“We’ve just gotta figure out how to close games better against these guys, but it’s not like they’re dominating us in any way. It’s just tough, but we’ll figure it out next year, for sure.”