After Slowing Knicks' All-Stars, Nets' Jordi Fernández Issues New Demand

Friday night marked the final matchup between the boroughs of the 2025-26 season.

The more established New York team hopes to break through and win its first championship in over 50 years. The franchise from New Jersey is just looking to build some positive momentum heading into next season while hoping the ping-pong balls go their way come May.

Well the tables appeared to be flipped for much of the contest, with the Brooklyn Nets jumping out to a lead as large as 13 points in the second quarter, though they ultimately fell to the New York Knicks by a narrow final score of 93-92.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 26 points on 7-of-16 shooting and 15 rebounds for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson added 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and eight assists.

Though the Knicks' All-Stars finished with respectable box score numbers, their first half performance reflected anything but.

Brooklyn's defenders were pressuring Brunson full-court, throwing doubles, blitzes, and hedges to take the ball out of his hands and limit his clean looks.

Towns also had trouble going up against Brooklyn's physicality, getting stripped of the ball and struggling to finish inside despite having optimal positioning.

For a team that has struggled to establish the tone early, Nets coach Jordi Fernández was pleased to see his team's defense against two All-NBA players.

"I thought we set up the tone, and the physicality was there from the beginning," Fernández said. "We missed some good open looks, and then ended up taking the lead in the first quarter. We held them to 14 points. Obviously, they missed some, but very very very happy with the way we started the game, because we've struggled starting games lately, and we had to overcome like big deficits, and today, even though it was a deficit because that third quarter we lost by 16, we had the chance to take the lead in the fourth. So, the way we started the game definitely helped throughout. We know we can do it now. I'm gonna demand to do it every day, every quarter."

Brunson still struggled with his shot for much of the second half, but he delivered when it mattered most in front of a Barclays Center crowd mostly in favor of the Manhattan team, drilling a pair of jumpers and assisting Towns on a driving layup to give New York a five-point lead with about a minute left to all but seal the Knicks' victory.