Three Takeaways From Knicks' Embarrassing One-Point Win Over Nets

The New York Knicks are 46-25, third in the East and riding a five-game win streak. If you're watching the scoreboard, things look fine. But if you're actually watching the games, you know something isn't right.

The win over the Brooklyn Nets on the road was the perfect example. Karl-Anthony Towns put up 26 points and 15 rebounds in just 29 minutes, the most efficient performance on the floor by anyone. And the Knicks still nearly blew it to a shorthanded, last-place team.

The Nets came in at 17-52, missing key players and still led the Knicks by six at halftime. New York committed 22 turnovers and shot just 27.6% from three.

A 93-92 final scoreline shouldn't exist in this matchup. And if you think this was just a bad night, you haven't been watching closely enough.

Knicks Slow Starts Have Become a Real Problem

Mar 20, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) reacts during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

This wasn't a one-off bad half. The pattern holds across this five-game win streak. They've been digging holes and climbing out, which is fun to watch until it isn't.

Coach Mike Brown addressed it directly after a recent win over the Golden State Warriors: "We have to figure out individually, collectively, how we can start games better. I'm not talking about the outcome, win or loss, I'm talking about the start of the game." The words landed. The next game looked the same.

Brown has said he doesn't feel the need to change the starting lineup right now. That stance is becoming harder to defend. Against teams like the Nets, a slow start is survivable. Against a top-four seed in the playoffs, it won't be.

And the starting lineup isn't the only piece that needs to wake up.

Mikal Bridges Needs to Figure This Out Before April

The Bridges situation is getting serious. Over his last eight games, he's averaging just 7.3 points on 33% shooting from the floor and under 25% from three.

Against the Nets, he played 36 minutes and scored nine points. That's not a role player having a quiet night. That's a guy the Knicks gave up five first-round picks for.

What makes it harder to ignore is the lack of aggression. Bridges isn't just missing shots. He's not creating opportunities either. He attempted barely any free throws in a recent stretch spanning over 100 minutes of playing time. You can't score if you're not attacking.

Brown noted after the Warriors' win that "it's not just Mikal, it's us collectively," which is fair. But with the playoffs weeks away, Bridges needs more than a group excuse.

Jalen Brunson Only Turns It On When His Back Is Against the Wall

Nobody is questioning Brunson's clutch gene. He hit back-to-back baskets late in the fourth to keep the Knicks ahead, and that is exactly what New York needs from its guy. But let's talk about the bigger picture for a second.

Against the Nets, Brunson took 19 shots and scored 17 points. In 41 minutes, against a team that is last in the league in points allowed. You'd expect the face of a playoff contender to feast in that matchup.

Now look at Luka Doncic in March. He's averaging 37.2 points on 25 shot attempts a game, shooting 50% from the floor. When Luka takes that many shots, he's scoring 40, 51, even 60. Brunson in March is averaging 23.1 points on 19 attempts at 41.4%. The gap in conversion when volume goes up is hard to ignore.

Luka's doing that against the Knicks, the Rockets, the Nuggets. Brunson's doing it against Utah and Indiana. When Brunson gets his shots against real competition, the returns haven't matched the usage.

New York keeps winning, and that should matter. But every game lately comes with a different problem attached. Some nights it's the slow start, some nights it's the turnovers, some nights it's a guy going missing. Against a last-place Nets team, it was all three at once. The playoffs will expose whichever version shows up.

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