The Brooklyn Nets host the New York Knicks at the Barclays Center on Friday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Nets are 17-52 and 13th in the East with a 9-25 home record, while the Knicks are 45-25 and third in the East with a 19-16 road record.
The Nets are coming off a one-sided 121-92 loss against the OKC Thunder, while the Knicks are coming off a 136-110 win over the Indiana Pacers. The last meeting between these teams came on January 21, 2026, with the Nets scoring an NBA-low 66 points in a 120-66 loss, going 3-0 against the Knicks so far this season.
The Nets are led by Michael Porter Jr., who’s averaging 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists this season, but is going to be ruled out for this clash. Nicolas Claxton is their second-best player, as the defensive center has averaged 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game amid a tanking season.
The Knicks will be led by Jalen Brunson, who has averaged 26.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists this season. Karl-Anthony Towns has been an excellent second option with 20.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists averages, with this duo likely being too much for the Nets to stop, let alone the rest of the roster.
This is a clash between two rival franchises on opposite ends of the table. At least the Nets do have pride to play for, given the scale of their last loss.
Injury Report
Nets
Noah Clowney: Questionable (wrist)
Michael Porter Jr.: Out (ankle, hamstring)
Egor Demin: Out (foot)
Day’Ron Sharpe: Out (elbow)
Ben Saraf: Out (foot)
Knicks
Jalen Brunson: Questionable (ankle/neck)
Miles McBride: Out (pelvis)
Why The Nets Have The Advantage
There are very small areas in which the Nets can claim to be superior heading into this game. They’re marginally better as a rim-protecting unit with 4.3 blocks per game (22nd in the NBA) compared to the Knicks’ 4.0 blocks per game (26th in the NBA). A lot of this can be attributed single-handedly to Claxton’s presence as a defensive specialist in the interior, and if he plays, he’ll be tasked with slowing down Towns in this game.
The Nets have a terrible record, but their coach, Jordi Fernandez, is known to make sure his players give him everything they can. That effort, along with the unpredictability of the roster, is what the franchise will be relying on to make sure this win is possible.
Outside of this, the Knicks have their measure across the board heading into this game. Their best hope is to get hot from outside, but the Nets are also one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA this season (34.2 3P%, 28th in the NBA), so hard to pick many advantages for them here.
Why The Knicks Have The Advantage
The Knicks are superior to the Nets in almost every facet of the game heading into this clash.
The Knicks have scored 119.6 points (10th in the NBA), grabbed 46.2 rebounds (fifth), and had the fifth-best three-point percentage in the NBA (37.3%). They have an 118.5 offensive rating and 113.0 defensive rating this season, grabbing the fifth-best net rating of the season so far with 5.5.
The Knicks play at a faster pace, are more active on the glass, are better shooters, and are strong enough on the perimeter to ensure that the Nets’ generally poor shooting over the season won’t suddenly change. Brooklyn is also the worst-rebounding team in the NBA, so the Knicks will get a chance to show their dominance on the offensive glass and in creating second-choice points aplenty here.
With the Nets being without Michael Porter Jr., they essentially don’t have a No. 1 option to rely on either. The Knicks are far too organized for the Nets to achieve anything significant here, which has shown across their matchups this season.
X-Factors
The Nets will hope that rookies Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf can be game-changers on offense with the ball. Traore is averaging 8.3 points and 3.6 assists this season, while Saraf is averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 assists. As rookie guards, they have major consistency issues, but if there’s anyone on the Nets who can make them competitive in this clash, it’s one of these two.
Outside of Claxton and MPJ, Jalen Wilson is the closest thing to a veteran on this Nets roster. He’s averaging 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in the last three games, and could be an impactful piece in this game if he gets sufficient opportunity.
The Knicks will hope Mikal Bridges can break out of his offensive funk in recent games, averaging 7.0 points (32.3 FG%) over their last seven games. However, he’s averaged 14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists over the season and will be playing in front of his former fans in Brooklyn. The weak Nets defense and the motivation to have a big night against his former franchise will be the perfect opportunity for Bridges to break out and return to being a major contributor.
Josh Hart is averaging 12.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season and recently had a huge 33-point performance. He is one of the most impactful rotational players on the Knicks roster and could easily have another career-defining game against this weak opposition. He’s arguably the perfect complement to Brunson on the roster, with their on-court chemistry shining in recent wins.
Prediction
It’s hard to envision any situation where the Knicks don’t comprehensively beat the Nets tonight. It’s hard to even comfortably say an outlier shooting night could be on the cards, given how bad the Nets have been as a shooting unit all season. The Knicks just need to stick to what’s brought them to success this season, and they can comfortably pick up a double-digit win against the free-falling Nets.
Prediction: Nets 91, Knicks 127
