It's been nearly three years since the Brooklyn Nets defeated the New York Knicks. Monday's meeting at Barclays Center was another reminder of the gaping chasm between the crosstown rivals. The Nets fell 113-100 for their 12th straight loss to the Knicks, the longest streak in either direction in the series' history.

Brooklyn competed early before Karl-Anthony Towns took the game over. Towns dominated Nic Claxton and the Nets to the tune of 37 points and 12 rebounds on 14-of-20 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from three and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Brooklyn shot a putrid 33-of-87 from the field (37.9 percent) and 14-of-48 (29.2 percent) from three.

“[KAT] is a very good player, and we got to find ways to fight him better,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “We tried. It just didn't work out very well for us. He scored 37 points and 12 [rebounds]. It's just not good enough with the communication… Credit to him. We definitely should have been better.”

While Claxton is having one of the best starts of his career, two of his least productive performances have come against Towns and New York. The longest-tenured Net has struggled with physically imposing centers throughout his career.

Karl-Anthony Towns bullies Nets during Knicks' 12 straight win in crosstown rivalry

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots the ball as Brooklyn Nets guard Tyrese Martin (13) defends during the first half at Barclays Center.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

That trend continued on Monday. Claxton posted just eight points and four rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting, finishing a minus-17 in 26 minutes. The Nets center once again had no answer for Towns' physicality, as the Knicks big man relentlessly bullied his way into the paint.

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“It's it's not just on Nic to guard KAT by himself. It's on all of us,” Fernandez said. “[Nic] can pressure the catch out. He can be very aggressive on pick and roll, all that. But he has four other guys. So, we have to be better as a group. I know he takes the one-on-one challenge [seriously], and he cares. So next time we play them, he's going to take it personally. He's going to go out there [and] to try to be a little more aggressive, maybe get more deflections, maybe get more rebounds, and get those winning possessions. That's a mindset you have to have when you play against a player like [KAT].”

While Monday's loss was more competitive than the Nets' 134-98 drubbing on Nov. 9 at Madison Square Garden, Brooklyn still wasn't close to picking up its first home win. In addition to Towns' brilliance, Jalen Brunson added 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting for New York. The Knicks shot 45-of-88 (51.1 percent) as a team with 28 assists and seven turnovers.

Meanwhile, Noah Clowney was one of the Nets' only bright spots. The third-year forward exploded for a career-high 31 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, 7-of-13 from three and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Clowney has averaged 16.7 points on 45/37/79 shooting splits over his last 10 appearances since entering Brooklyn's starting lineup.

The 21-year-old's 63.3 true shooting percentage during that span ranks 22nd among 108 players attempting over 10 shots per game (minimum six games played).

Clowney was Brooklyn's only source of consistent offense on Monday. Michael Porter Jr. had his first off night in two weeks, posting 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 1-of-9 from three. Rookie Drake Powell added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four assists and one turnover in 24 minutes off the bench.

The loss moved the Nets into fourth place in the draft lottery standings, a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans, one game behind the Indiana Pacers and 1.5 games behind the Washington Wizards.