Considering they both reside in the Atlantic Division and are a mere subway ride away from one another, whenever the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets square off against one another, tensions always seem to be rather high.
From All-Star Julius Randle’s enraged antics after the buzzer back in March 2021 to Brooklyn big man Nic Claxton’s boastful comments from earlier this season stating that he’s “never lost” to the Knicks, the battle for supremacy within the five boroughs seems to be as intense as ever and, with just one post-game tweet following their latest bout, it appears Mitchell Robinson has gone about and stroked the flames on the rivalry even more.
In a since-deleted post on his personal Twitter account, in the direct hours after having bested the Nets to even up the series at two games apiece, the Knicks pivot proclaimed himself to be the best center currently playing in New York.
“Fun fact: [I’m] the best center in New York and I’m standing 10 toes on that,” Robinson tweeted on March 2 (H/T @NBACentral).
Deleted tweet from Mitchell Robinson:
Since taking down the tweet, Nets fans have come out of the proverbial woodwork and have come to the defense of their club’s center, which initially resulted in Robinson responding with a tweet saying “y’all take stuff to serious,” though, ultimately, led to the fifth-year big praising them by saying he respects their “energy for the battle of ny.”
Knicks Big Shouts Out Fans
Though Mitchell Robinson was quick to take a jab at the Nets’ expense, early on in the day after New York’s blow-out triumph over Brooklyn the big man shouted out Knicks fans with a friendly morning message.
“Good morning Knicks fans and Knicks fans only,” Robinson tweeted.
The contest finished in a route fashion in favor of the Knicks, as they came away with a 142-118 win, with Robinson registering 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block on a whopping 100% shooting from the field in 25 minutes of action.
This performance marks as the first time in his career that he has logged four straight double-double performances.
Knicks Guard Wins Player of the Month
On March 2, it was officially announced that Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has been deemed the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for his stellar production throughout February.
Jalen Brunson wins Eastern Conference player of the month, per the NBA.
During this period, Brunson has found himself posting sensational averages of 27.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on 52.9% shooting from the floor and 42.6% shooting from distance while guiding the Knicks to a 9-2 record.
While his efforts in February are certainly worthy of Player of the Month honors, the fact of the matter is the point guard has been putting up these types of sensational numbers virtually all season long, but especially since the start of the new year and, according to former NBA sniper JJ Redick, from the beginning of January on the 26-year-old could be argued as being the second-best guard in the association.
“A few weeks ago on First Take they let me do 60-seconds on Jalen Brunson and I gave him some love. And what I said was, since January 1, since, you know, the start of the new year, he’s playing as well as any guard in the NBA outside of Damian Lillard. I said that, that was a direct quote right there. And the responses to that showed me how many f*cking casual fans there are…You could just watch the game and see what Jalen Brunson does on a nightly basis and how important he is, especially in clutch,” Redick said.
This sentiment has since been shared by former Knicks big man and 2016 NBA Champion Channing Frye, with him even publicly praising the Knicks for their decision to sign him in free agency this past offseason.
Since the start of 2023, Brunson has been posting sensational per-game averages of 28.6 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 51.1% shooting from the floor and 45.6% shooting from deep.
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Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson Takes Cryptic Shot at Nets Center