NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 21 seconds left after the Knicks had taken a late lead, and the Brooklyn Nets held on for a 113-109 victory Friday night in the first meeting this season between New York’s teams.
The Nets controlled much of the game and then responded just in time after the Knicks had surged ahead with a big fourth quarter.
Irving, who scored 50 points in an overtime loss in his Brooklyn debut, scored five straight points down the stretch after New York took a three-point lead. Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points.
Allonzo Trier scored 22 points for the Knicks, who fell to 0-2. Rookie RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox II each added 16.
Nets fans hoping to see the first victory for their new-look team had to wait through an anxious fourth quarter, when the blue-shirted fans in the building started making plenty of noise after the Knicks came back from 19 points down.
Wayne Ellington’s 3-pointer capped a run of 10 straight points that tied it at 104. Irving made a layup, but then Ellington hit another 3 and Barrett stole Irving’s pass and made a layup, making it a 15-2 run and giving New York a 109-106 lead with 3:41 to play.
Irving then hit a jumper and a step-back 3-pointer from the right wing that was reminiscent of his game-winning 3 in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA finals for Cleveland. The Knicks had a chance to tie but Julius Randle lost the ball on a spin move under the basket and Dinwiddie closed it out with two free throws.
TIMBERWOLVES 121, HORNETS 99: Karl-Anthony Towns had 37 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in visiting Minnesota’s victory over Charlotte.
Towns was 13 of 18 from the field, hitting four 3-pointers.
Andrew Wiggins added 16 points for Minnesota. Devonte Graham had 24 points on 6-of-9 3-point shooting for Charlotte.
BULLS 110, GRIZZLIES 102: Zach LaVine scored 37 points and rookie Coby White had 21 of his 25 points in the second half as visiting Chicago rallied to beat Memphis.
LaVine was 13 of 23 from the field, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc in leading the Bulls to their first win of the season, after a loss at Charlotte on Wednesday.
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