The Brooklyn Nets, coming off a rough choke job on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, played a nip-and-tuck affair on Tuesday against the New York Knicks to kick off Rivals Week. Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. played a huge part in giving the Nets some much-needed energy. He was active on defense, and he was fearless in getting to the rim. On one play in the second quarter, with the Nets down by two, 46-44, Smith converted a tough contested layup, outmuscling Josh Hart and flexing on him after the play.
This play, however, ended up being burned on Hart's head. With the game tied at 101 with around a minute left in the contest, Hart had his sweet revenge on Smith, blocking the Nets guard's with Julius Randle punctuating the sequence with a dunk to take a lead that the Knicks wouldn't relinquish in a 108-103 victory.
Josh Hart, following the game, seemed none too pleased that Dennis Smith Jr. thought he would get the Knicks guard twice. He made sure that lightning would not strike twice for Smith, who may have been encouraged to take on Hart at the rim due to his prior success.
“I knew that he had that against me and flexed a little bit. So I figured he’d probably go to the basket because he thought s**t was sweet. So luckily I was able to get a piece of it,” Hart said in his postgame presser, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
That was a golden opportunity for the Nets to take the lead at such a crucial juncture in the game, but Josh Hart and the rest of the Knicks defense was not having it. After Hart's vengeful block on Smith, OG Anunoby also swatted a go-ahead attempt from Cam Johnson. Hart then saved the ball from going out of bounds, leading to a Julius Randle leak out dunk.
This victory is extra sweet for the Knicks, as it's always a point of pride for them to assert themselves as the better team in the state. The Nets are fading fast in the Eastern Conference standings, which should put an even bigger smile on Knicks fans' faces.
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