Getty Kevin Durant drives against Julius Randle.
The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks met for the first time this season to close out November and the game did not disappoint fans of either team.
Evan Fournier hit a three to tie the game in the closing seconds, but the Nets managed to come away with a victory thanks to two James Johnson free throws and a missed half-court heave from Fournier.
Since the game was in Brooklyn, it makes sense that there were a mixture of both Knicks and Nets fans at the game, but it almost seemed like there was a 50/50 split between the two. The Nets and Knicks don’t exactly have a storied rivalry, but with New York City bragging rights on the line, fans wanted to get out there and support their respective teams.
As it turns out, the Brooklyn Nets set a new record for crowd size.
Nets Break a Record
The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks got the fans to come out in a big way as last night’s game set a Barclays Center record by having a total of 18,081 fans come to the game.
This arena has been open since 2012 and the Nets have had playoff runs since then, so it’s a bit interesting to see a regular season game in November set the all-time record, but that’s just how the cards played out.
The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer notes that 350 people are included in the standing room only section of the arena, so that’s how they were able to reach this mark.
To be fair, Kevin Durant is having an MVP-type season and after a slow first half, he caught fire and looked like he’s looked all season. James Harden might’ve had his best performance of the entire season as well, so the Nets look like they will be very dangerous going forward.
While half of the fans in Barclays might’ve been Knicks fans, the Nets did their job and set them home unhappy.
If records like this are being broken in the regular season, then it seems very possible that it will be broken yet again in the playoffs when more fans turn out to see the team compete for a championship.
What’s Next For the Nets?
GettyJames Harden drives against Karl Anthony Towns
Sitting at the top of spot of the Eastern Conference is a good place to be, and that’s exactly where the Nets find themselves. Something they’ve been struggling with this season is beating other playoff contenders, but they passed a big test after dispatching the Knicks.
There’s a tough slate of games ahead for the team as they have matchups against the Timberwolves, Bulls and Mavericks in their next three. The Bulls have been surprising many fans around the league, and it looks like the additions of Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan have paid off for them.
Only time will tell if it’s enough to beat the Nets, and fans will know the answer to that question on December 4. This will be the second of a back-to-back for the Nets.
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