Nets Loss to the Knicks Will go Down in History for all the Worst Reasons

On the heel's of New York's players only meeting, it set a franchise record in margin of victory.

Jan 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore (88) looks to drive past New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Embarrassment may be the lone takeaway for the Brooklyn Nets in their 120-66 loss to the New York Knicks. The rivalry beatdown surprisingly only marked Brooklyn's largest margin of defeat since Jan. 15, 2025, in a 59-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nets' 66-point night against the Knicks marked the lowest game score in the NBA since 2016 –there have been 13,120 games played across the last decade.

New York is one of the league's oldest franchises, dating back to 1946, but the win on Wednesday marked the largest margin of victory in its history. This came after the Knicks had previously lost nine times in their last 11 games, leading to a players-only meeting called by Jalen Brunson.

The game only got worse for Brooklyn as the game dragged on as well. Ziaire Williams made a shot with 19.6 seconds to go in the third quarter to push the Nets' score to 56. They wouldn't score their 57th point until there was 5:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, nearly a seven-minute drought.

Naturally, Brooklyn's field goal percentage was also historically bad. At 29% from the field, that's good for the sixth-worst clip in team history and the worst since 2019, also in a loss to New York. Michael Porter Jr. and Williams were the only Nets players to score in double figures, and Williams was the only Net to shoot at least 50% from the field.

The most noticeable difference between the two teams came from the rebound battle. Brooklyn was outrebounded 56-27 –– even with all of its misses, it only totaled four offensive rebounds.

Oftentimes, a huge blowout and low point total would mean a lot of turnovers, but the Nets had a modest 14 turnovers. The source of their misfortune was simply too many players sharing an off-night shooting.

This historically bad performance was a culmination of Brooklyn's last 12 games, where it went 2-10, a stark difference from the December stretch, where it went 7-4. The Nets stand at 12-30 on the season and currently have the fifth-best odds at the top pick in the 2026 draft. Although the players and head coach Jordi Fernandez are adamant about competing, it seems like the focus has shifted to increasing their lottery odds.

Even if Brooklyn continues to struggle as it has of late, the response from the NBA's youngest roster will be important for the culture Fernandez is trying to build.