Nothing like a crosstown rivalry to fire up opposing teams. The New York Knicks hosted the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday and Madison Square Garden got rocking again.

The Knicks set the tempo early on, taking a commanding 17-point lead after the first half. But the Nets hung tough, with Kevin Durant catching fire in the final two quarters to hack out a 110-98 victory. KD scored 23 of his game-high 32 points in the second half, and according to a report by ESPN, it appears Kyrie Irving's halftime pep talk helped his fellow All-Star and the rest of the Nets to power through.

“I just kept telling our guys that this is our game.”

The Nets indeed made the game theirs, as they outscored the Knicks, 60-31 in the last two periods. Following his 42-point explosion on Tuesday, Irving finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, although he shot poorly from the field with a 9-of-26 marksmanship.

With the win, the Nets improved to 42-38. They are looking to climb up to the no. 7 spot and overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers to improve their odds in the play-in tournament. Curiously, they will next face the Cavaliers on Friday before closing out their regular season against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

The Nets need to win both of those games to seal the no. 7 seed. Safe to say, no team wants to face a fired-up Durant and Irving in a high-stakes game.