The Knicks didn’t just get back in the win column Tuesday night-they made a statement so loud it echoed through Madison Square Garden and across the league.
In front of a buzzing home crowd, New York snapped its four-game skid in emphatic fashion with a 120-66 demolition of the Brooklyn Nets. That 54-point margin?
The largest in franchise history. On a night when both teams were searching for answers in the middle of January slumps, it was the Knicks who brought the urgency-and then some.
From the opening tip, the Knicks came out swinging. Jalen Brunson set the tone early, finishing with a game-high 20 points and orchestrating the offense with his usual blend of pace and poise.
Karl-Anthony Towns wasted no time getting physical in the paint, bullying his way to early buckets. And Landry Shamet?
He was lights out from deep, draining six threes and stretching Brooklyn’s defense to its breaking point.
This one was over before it had a chance to start.
Brooklyn’s rookie Egor Demin tried to inject some early energy, knocking down back-to-back triples to open the game. But the Knicks responded with a 12-0 burst that flipped a brief 6-4 deficit into a 16-6 lead with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter.
Towns powered through for seven quick points, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges chipped in to keep the pressure on. From there, the floodgates opened.
“It starts with pace,” Brunson said postgame. “Getting stops and running helps, but our pace offensively was great. We got in the paint, made plays, and just made a lot of good reads tonight.”
That pace-and the commitment to the little things-was the difference. The Knicks weren’t just playing fast; they were playing smart, decisive basketball. They attacked mismatches, shared the ball, and defended like a team that had something to prove.
By the end of the first quarter, the Knicks were up 18. Brunson had 11, Towns had seven, and Shamet had already hit a pair of threes.
The Nets, meanwhile, looked shell-shocked. Outside of Demin’s early spark, Brooklyn couldn’t buy a bucket.
Michael Porter Jr., still playing through a minor MCL sprain, started 0-for-4 and never found a rhythm. The Nets didn’t get a non-Demin field goal until Nic Claxton jumped a passing lane and went coast-to-coast-nearly halfway through the quarter.
And it only got worse from there.
By halftime, the Knicks had put up 60 points on 55% shooting. Brunson and Towns were both in double figures, and the defense was suffocating.
Brooklyn was held to 38 points on just 32.5% shooting, with no player reaching double digits. The Knicks forced seven first-half turnovers and never let the Nets settle into any kind of flow.
Whatever adjustments Brooklyn hoped to make at halftime didn’t materialize. The Knicks kept the foot on the gas, and the Nets kept spinning their wheels.
Shamet’s sixth three came with just over eight minutes left in the game and pushed the Knicks past the 100-point mark-while the Nets were still stuck on 56. Brooklyn didn’t score in the fourth quarter until Day’Ron Sharpe hit a pair of free throws with 5:38 left.
Let that sink in.
The Nets shot just 29.1% from the field for the game. Their 66 total points were the lowest by any team in the NBA this season.
Porter led Brooklyn with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. It was a night to forget-and fast.
“It was my fault,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said. “I didn’t prepare them to play and compete at the highest level.”
Brooklyn’s 54-point loss was the second-worst in franchise history. And while the Nets continue to search for answers, the Knicks reminded everyone what they look like when they’re locked in.
This wasn’t just a win-it was a reset. A reassertion of identity.
A team that had lost four straight found its edge again, and did it in dominant fashion.
The Knicks will look to carry that momentum into Saturday’s road matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets, meanwhile, will try to regroup before hosting the Boston Celtics on Friday.
But for now, Tuesday night belongs to the Knicks-and the history books.