Knicks 120, Nets 66: Is that a real final score?

When things are going the way they’ve been going for the Knicks, can you ever definitively say you’re confident in them to win, regardless of opponent?

Yes, on paper, it was more likely the Knicks (26-18) would embarrass the Nets (12-30) by biblical margins than it was for them to manage to lose, especially when fully healthy. But after whatever the hell happened on MLK Day (and in Sacramento), the offense’s recent short-circuiting, and the fact that Cam Thomas has a penchant for scoring in bunches against the Knicks, I was worried.

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Maybe I should’t have been. Some things transcend slumps and horrifically bad vibes.

When one team owns another the way the Knicks do to the Nets, they’ll win no matter what. This effect was reversed a few years ago, as the Nets, in the midst of their ten-game winning streak against the Knicks, came back from a 21-point halftime deficit despite missing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons. Sometimes, you just own a team.

Nic Claxton would know, that’s 13 straight.

Every so often, we get a game that makes you dig deep into the Statmuse files. Let’s see what we can get from this historic, 54-point drubbing:

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It’s the largest margin of victory in franchise history. For a team that’s now played 6,231 games since 1946, that’s a lot. It breaks a three-way tie of games in 1968, 1972, and 1994, all 48-point wins.

The Knicks led by 59 in the final minute before the Nets scored five to end the game. That 59-point lead is probably the largest in franchise history, but we only have concrete data in the last 30-ish years. Looking at the box scores of the pre-play-by-play era games, I don’t think an anyone got to 60.

It’s the second-largest margin of victory by an NBA team this season. The Hornets destroyed the Jazz, 150-95, 11 days ago. The Knicks would’ve had this one, but Danny Wolf had to statpad with 10 seconds left. Alas!

The Knicks last allowed 66 points or fewer on April 13, 2012, when they smacked the Wizards 103-65. Wizards’ leading scorer? Jordan Crawford (who went 6-for-20 from the field).

The Nets are the first NBA team to score…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-120-nets-66-real-130000021.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-22 13:00:00

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