Kevin Durant: Knicks-Nets on Christmas 'Would've Been Perfect'
'Twas a few days before Christmas, and the Brooklyn Nets sans James Harden, appear to be wistfully dreaming of Madison Square Garden.
The World's Most Famous Arena will be open this Dec. 25, as its hardwood dwellers, the surging New York Knicks, will take on the Philadelphia 76ers (12 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) to open the NBA's five-game holiday slate. But it appears that Brooklyn star Kevin Durant is dreaming of a blue Christmas, hinting upon such a concept in his postgame comments following the Nets' 143-113 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
"Knicks-Nets would’ve been a great Christmas Day matchup,” Durant said. “There are probably some people, especially with how the Knicks are playing and the way we’re playing right now, I feel like that would be the perfect matchup on Christmas.”
Alas, unlike their gridiron counterparts, the NBA hasn't normalized flexible scheduling. Had Durant's desires been granted, a New York City hardwood civil war would've situated the two teams that held the Association's longest active winning streaks entering Wednesday play. The Nets (20-12) are now the sole holders of the title at seven after the Knicks (18-14) fell by a 113-106 decision to the Toronto Raptors. Sunday's holiday affair nonetheless promises an exciting matchup, as the Knicks welcome in a Philadelphia group that has won each of its last six.
Durant recognized his indirect role for the Nets' exclusion on the Christmas slate after consecutive holiday appearances: at the time of the NBA's schedule formation, his Brooklyn future was in limbo thanks to a rumored trade request. The Nets have emerged victorious in each of the last two Christmas celebrations, topping the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers last season after besting Boston in 2020.
"I’m probably responsible for us not planning on Christmas with what went on this summer," Durant acknowledged. "But hey, it is what it is. We play on the 26th, that’s close enough.”
Brooklyn will face another Christmas combatant, the Milwaukee Bucks, to close out its pre-Christmas slate on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, YES/NBA TV) before the Cleveland Cavaliers linger in the game Durant mentioned next Monday.
The Knicks and Nets have done Christmas battle on five occasions, all between 1979 and 1984. Then based in New Jersey, the Nets won three of those meetings, the last being a 120-114 triumph behind 36 points from Michael Ray Richardson. This Christmas will featured the 13th matchup between the Knicks and 76ers, extending its lead on the most common holiday pairing (five ahead of the Knicks' rivalry with the Boston Celtics).
Three matchups between the Knicks and Nets remain this season, the first slated for national television on Jan. 28 in Brooklyn. The Knicks will look to end an eight-game losing streak against their cross-borough rivals, one that continued in blowout fashion back in November: behind a Durant triple-double, the Nets dismantled the Knicks by a 112-85 final.
In the meantime, the Knicks will face the Chicago Bulls on Friday night in Manhattan (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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