Knicks forward Julius Randle knows an intra-city rivalry well, having played four seasons for the Lakers, who share an arena in Los Angeles with the Clippers.
The Knicks and Nets are separated by the East River, but Randle felt the excitement, heard the support at Barclays Center when he got his first taste of the rivalry in late October.
“The game is fun,” Randle said. “The game we played there, it was amazing. So, yeah, I can sense the rivalry there. Oh yeah, there were a lot of Knicks fans. It was almost like a home game for us. It was fun.”
The Knicks and Nets square off for a third time Thursday with Brooklyn well ahead in the standings and leading the series, 2-0. The matchup wasn’t good enough for TNT, which zapped the game from its Christmas Week lineup last week. But it will do.
The comparison has been made the Lakers own Los Angeles in the same vein as the Knicks owning the Big Apple – regardless of records. Randle wouldn’t go there, but feels a little more basketball passion in New York compared to when he was in La-La Land. Of course, the Lakers and Clippers are now powers and were set to face off on Christmas.
“With the Lakers, it was also fun,” Randle said. “A little in-town rivalry. But it was just New Yorkers who love basketball. It was just a fun environment to play in.
“Are you asking if it’s a Laker town there and a Knick town here?” Randle added. “I think New York loves basketball.”
The Nets (16-13) are 10 games better than the reeling Knicks (7-24) and appear headed for a second straight playoff berth. But they still haven’t converted enough fans over to their side as expected following the July blockbuster signings of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
That may partly be due to Irving being out since November with a mysterious shoulder injury and Durant (Achilles) stating he’s not coming back until 2020-21. Maybe next season the transformation will happen.
While the Knicks fired their coach, Kenny Atkinson continues to show how good a leader he is and Spencer Dinwiddie has emerged as a star-like player in Irving’s absence.
With Irving opting not to show up at the Garden, Dinwiddie dominated the Knicks with 30 points in a Nov. 24 Nets victory. The first encounter in October, Irving won with a game-winning step-back 3-pointer over RJ Barrett in the dying seconds.
The Knicks will throw at Dinwiddie all three of their point guards — Elfrid Payton, Dennis Smith Jr. and demoted Frank Ntilikina.
“He’s played very well, played well in our last game,” Knicks interim coach Mike Miller said of Dinwiddie. “He’s having a real good year. That’s one area that is important to us to lock in and slow a guy down and not put him in position to have a great night.”
Knicks president Steve Mills gave up early on Fizdale, firing him early in his second season, but Nets management stuck it out with Atkinson across the losing years. “He’s done a very good job — an outstanding job,” said Miller, who is 3-6. “Very good coach.”
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