Knicks Humiliate Nets in Historic Blowout at MSG
The Brooklyn Nets had a chance to make a statement Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Instead, they walked off the court on the wrong end of a beatdown that will be etched in the record books for years to come.
The New York Knicks, losers of nine of their previous 11 games, unleashed a 54-point demolition of their crosstown rivals, winning 120-66 in front of a stunned home crowd. That margin?
The largest victory in Knicks franchise history. For the Nets, it was nearly their worst loss ever - second only to a 59-point drubbing by the Clippers last season.
And Brooklyn’s 66 points? The fewest scored by any NBA team in more than nine years.
After the game, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez didn’t sugarcoat it.
“I’m the one responsible for it,” Fernandez said. “I didn't prepare them well enough to play and compete at the highest level. That falls on me.”
It’s rare to hear a coach take that much ownership after a loss, but this wasn’t a typical loss. This was a collapse - on both ends of the floor.
A Night to Forget for Brooklyn
Let’s break down just how lopsided this game was. The Nets shot 23-of-79 from the field - that’s 29.1 percent - and just 11-of-40 from deep. The Knicks, meanwhile, were on fire, hitting 57.5 percent of their shots and going 16-of-32 from three.
But the numbers get uglier.
- Points in the paint: Knicks 46, Nets 20
- Second-chance points: Knicks 12, Nets 0
- Fastbreak points: Knicks 29, Nets 4
The Nets couldn’t buy a bucket, couldn’t defend the rim, and couldn’t get back in transition. It wasn’t just a bad shooting night - it was a total systems failure.
Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn’s top scorer, was held to just 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. And the team’s four rookies - Egor Demin, Drake Powell, Nolan Traore, and Danny Wolf - combined to shoot 5-of-33.
That’s not a typo. Five-of-thirty-three.
The effort wasn’t there, either. The Knicks came in wounded, booed off their home floor just days earlier after a blowout loss to a struggling Mavericks team.
But on this night, they played with the urgency of a team trying to save its season. The Nets?
They looked like they were already eyeing the offseason.
“It’s just unacceptable,” said Noah Clowney. “It can't happen that way again. At all.”
Clowney didn’t hold back, and he shouldn’t. The Nets had a golden opportunity - not just to stop a 12-game losing streak to the Knicks, but to twist the knife on a rival in disarray. Instead, they came out flat, lacked intensity, and got steamrolled.
No Fight, No Fire
After the game, players pointed to a lack of attention to detail - things like not putting Jalen Brunson in enough actions, or miscommunications on defense. But a 54-point loss doesn’t come down to missed switches or poor matchups.
It comes down to effort. And Brooklyn didn’t bring any.
“The first thing [we addressed after the game] was the [lack of] fight,” rookie Drake Powell said. “You gotta come to play every night, otherwise, in a competitive league like the NBA, you're gonna get blown out like we did.”
It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to get embarrassed. And make no mistake - this was an embarrassment.
Jordi Fernandez after tonight’s 54-point loss:
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 22, 2026
“I’m the one responsible for this. The players gotta move on… I have to help them better… I gotta make sure they understand the values that we have and the way we wanna play.” pic.twitter.com/z5mOt9Ff59
The Road Ahead Doesn’t Get Easier
The Nets don’t have much time to lick their wounds. They’ll host the Boston Celtics on Friday - a team that’s been among the league’s elite all season - before hitting the road for a brutal five-game swing that includes stops in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, and Utah.
For a team that’s clearly in a developmental phase, the growing pains were always expected. But losses like this?
They hit different. Because they’re not just about talent.
They’re about pride.
And right now, the Nets need to find some - fast.