Basket Ball / Sports

Knicks trading Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel to Pistons to clear cap space for pursuit of Jalen Brunson, per report

Last week, on draft night, the New York Knicks traded Kemba Walker and the No. 13 overall pick (Jalen Duren) to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a future first-round pick. Now, just a few days later, the two sides have come together to make another deal.

This time, the Knicks will send Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, two future second-round picks and $6 million in cash to the Pistons in order to clear more cap space for their pursuit of Jalen Brunson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The Pistons will not be sending any players back to the Knicks in the deal.

By moving Burks and Noel, the Knicks will be able to clear an additional $19 million from their books. Combined with the money shed by trading Walker, they now have around $30 million in cap space this summer, which will be more than enough for them to offer Brunson a deal worth $100 million over four years.

Early on Tuesday, multiple reports suggested that the Knicks are now the favorites to sign Brunson. They’ve hired his dad as an assistant coach, worked to clear cap space and will now be able to make a competitive offer when free agency opens at 6 p.m. ET on June 30. While the Mavericks are better set up for immediate success, Brunson will get to take on a new challenge in New York and also have a bigger role on offense.

It’s also worth noting that because the Knicks now have the cap space to sign Brunson, the Mavericks’ chances of salvaging the situation by working out a sign-and-trade have been greatly reduced. As it stands, the Mavs are likely to lose Brunson for nothing, which will be a huge blow to their hopes of making another run in the playoffs next season.

As for the Pistons, this deal also impacts their summer plans. While reports after their successful draft suggested they would no longer pursue Deandre Ayton, there was still a chance they could go that route. Now, they are …

Basket Ball / Sports

Nets escape with wild win over rival Knicks

Kevin Durant and the Nets survive a thriller against the Knicks

James Johnson hit the tiebreaking free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining as the host Brooklyn Nets blew a 16-point lead, survived a wild fourth quarter, and outlasted the New York Knicks for a 112-110 victory in front of a raucous crowd Tuesday night, November 30 (Wednesday, December 1, Manila time).

The game was tied at 110-110 after New York’s Evan Fournier hit a three-pointer over Bruce Brown with 17 seconds left. Brooklyn used its last timeout to advance the ball, and James Harden inbounded to Kevin Durant.

Durant held the ball for a few seconds, took about five dribbles and moved to his left near midcourt. After encountering a double-team, he passed to Johnson, who was fouled by Mitchell Robinson and then calmly sank the foul shots.

New York had one more chance, but Fournier’s 44-foot three-point try as time expired clanked off the front of the rim.

Johnson’s free throws gave Brooklyn its fifth win in six games and capped a final quarter that featured 10 lead changes.

Harden scored 28 of his 34 points in the first half to lead all scorers and Durant scored 11 of his 27 in the fourth quarter. Durant hit two free throws to give Brooklyn a 109-107 lead 27.5 seconds before Fournier’s three-pointer.

Alec Burks led the Knicks with 25 points and Julius Randle added 24 for New York, which shot 48.4%. Derrick Rose contributed 16 points and Fournier contributed 13.

Harden scored 15 points as the Nets overcame an eight-point deficit and ended the first quarter with a 33-28 lead. Harden surpassed 20 points with two free throws to give Brooklyn a 43-36 lead with 8:48 left in the half and Brooklyn held a 45-36 lead on a layup by Johnson on its next possession.

The Knicks held a 61-60 lead at intermission after Harden canned a triple with 3.5 seconds left. Brooklyn scored the first 14 points of the third quarter and held an 84-68 lead on a jumper

…
Basket Ball / Sports

Trae Young Silences the New York Knicks in MSG

What the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young did in silencing the New York Knicks and their raucous fans in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Sunday was that second, much louder kind.

When a visiting player takes over down the stretch not just of any game but of the first playoff game he’s ever played … when the building in which he does that isn’t just any arena but Madison Square Garden … when the crowd being quieted isn’t just pent up from 15 months of a global pandemic but eight years of postseason drought, that’s more than just an index-finger-held-up-to-the-lips moment.

The Hawks’ unflappable point guard broke out the muzzles and the duct tape, too, against the 15,000 fans so boisterously stirring echoes of Knicks playoff thrillers past.

Catching the ball in the backcourt with 9.8 second left in a game tied at 105-105, Young pushed forward, veered to the right around New York’s Taj Gibson and Frank Ntilikina, evaded Reggie Bullock as he pinched in from the wing and tossed up a floater that dropped at the 0.9-second mark.

Trae Young says ‘it got real quiet in here’ after his game-winning floater to beat the Knicks in Game 1.

Young earned the chance to respond in pantomime to fans who, many of them by his telling, weren’t just vocal but vulgar. Hey, it’s New York, right?

“I don’t know, I’ve always looked at it as I’m doing something right if I’m affecting them with my play that much,” Young said after scoring 32 points with seven rebounds and 10 assists. “Fans can only talk. They can’t guard me. They’re not out there playing. For me, it’s just a part of the game.

“As I hit the floater, it felt like everybody got quiet.”

In that instant, Young became the first player to hit a game-winner in the final five seconds of his postseason debut since the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade in 2004.

Said Atlanta teammate John Collins, whose shot at setting a screen for Young ended

…