{"id":292935,"date":"2026-07-11T01:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T01:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/292935\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T01:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T01:24:11","slug":"brooklyn-nets-smoke-new-york-knicks-in-las-vegas-opener-91-65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/292935\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Nets smoke New York Knicks in Las Vegas Opener 91-65"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re the fan who refuses to get too high on Summer League, but also the kind who\u2019s keen to see the crown knocked off the recently-anointed New York Knicks, Brooklyn\u2019s fourth game this summer likely put your spirit in a pretzel.<\/p>\n

The Nets met their cross-town rival hundreds of miles away this afternoon to kick off their run in the Las Vegas Summer League. New York, the team without any game action yet this month, looked the part throughout the entire contest, needing every minute and more to find their groove. The Nets needed the first half and about three minutes of the third quarter, but no more.<\/p>\n

And in the end, it was another eye-opening performance for Brooklyn\u2019s Backcourt as Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. scored 20 points each and dominated New York, 91-65.<\/p>\n

While Brooklyn entered this one already with three games under their belt, this was our first look at sophomore Danny Wolf. The Yale x Michigan product did not play at all in Sacramento but started this afternoon alongside Mikel Brown Jr., Egor D\u00ebmin, Drake Powell, and Chaney Johnson. However, Brown Jr., fresh off a fine first game himself on Monday night, got the mic with Chris Haynes pregame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I hold myself to an expectation that\u2019s higher than what other people are saying,\u201d he said when asked about the hype around him as a prospect. \u201cObviously, you know, I feel like if you have expectation on you, that means you\u2019re expected to be a great player. So just, you know, embracing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a second straight game, Brooklyn\u2019s first points came from Brown Jr. on a fadeaway jumper along the baseline, yet this time from within the three-point arc. Points of all kinds came at a premium to begin the game, however. Both teams began the contest shooting 3-of-18 from the field. And although it was a collective brick-building effort in the first, the Knicks did the heavier lifting, going without a made field goal until the 3:07 mark of the period. While the Nets weren\u2019t much better, Wolf and D\u00ebmin did connect during this slick ATO\u2026<\/p>\n

Shots momentarily started falling for the champs as the first crossed over into the second where the Knicks enjoyed a 12-0 run which gave them the lead. While Brooklyn caught no such breaks, they did snag a handful of offensive boards to stick around. Johnson and Dain Dainja tapped the team into way to a few extra possessions and points. Dainja, a force off the bench for a second straight game, finished with six points, six boards, and a rejection.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Egor D\u00ebmin continued to laugh in the face of discouragement. After missing his first three shots of the game, the sophomore guard just kept on pulling deep into the second. His darts started hitting the board down the stretch of the period as well. His two makes from beyond the arc in the final two minutes of the frame were enough to give Brooklyn a 38-33 lead at half.<\/p>\n

D\u00ebmin led the Nets there with 15 points on 6-13 shooting and 2-8 from deep. Johnson followed with a 9\/6\/2 line along with two steals. Brown Jr. (4), Wolf (0), and Powell (1) collectively had just five points on 1-8 shooting, but did their best to make up for it on the other side of the ball.<\/p>\n

In the third, Brooklyn continued to lean on their defense, forcing four turnovers in the subsequent period\u2019s first five minutes. Johnson picked Dillon Jones\u2019s pocket before going coast to coast for a jam roughly four minutes deep. Brown Jr. stole one before flying and flushing less than a minute later\u2026<\/p>\n

And while up there, the sixth overall pick ripped the saran off their rim. The Nets continued to push on the break after turnover and boards alike. After converting a number of transition points, they started to find their groove in the half court as well. In a flash, Brooklyn experienced a 15-0 jolt that gave them a 22-point lead. MBJ topped it off with one to help all the pre-draft Steph Curry comparison artists out\u2026<\/p>\n

While later in the game, that was only the start for Brown Jr. In the fourth, he turned a redemptive second half into a stellar outing and a comfortable win into a nasty blowout. Flashing his feel on the court and knack for finding space once again, he mixed in a flurry of threes put the game out of question. The rock fight we were watching an hour before suddenly felt like a foggy memory. MBJ had 16 points in just under 15 minutes of second half play before taking a seat with the Nets up 85-53 and a little under five minutes remaining. He finished with 20 points, three assists, and two steals while shooting 6-12 from the field and 3-6 from deep.<\/p>\n

The Nets emptied their bench soon after that shuffle and splash before easily trotting to their third straight summer league victory, and their first part of this official tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to find a rhythm, you know,\u201d Brown Jr. said post game. \u201cCoach just told me to stay aggressive, keep going and keep making plays, so that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julius Randle Speaks with Chris Haynes<\/p>\n

Hours after the trade finally processed, Julius Randle made his first public appearance at this one. He spoke with Haynes during the second quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m great, man. You know, I\u2019m excited,\u201d he said. \u201cGreat opportunity ahead. Great organization. Made me really comfortable to start. So, you know, got a lot of young talent. Got some good vets. Excited to see what we can put together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haynes asked specifically about Randle\u2019s experience as a team leader and veteran locker room presence. In case you live under a rock, he was widely praised for his efforts while doing that now two stints ago with the Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, just ability to adjust and adapt, to be honest, \u201d he said. \u201cI had one of the best best mentors there was that brought me in from day one in Kobe when I was a young player. I understood and saw how important that was for me at the start of my career, just seeing him and seeing him as an example for me as a player. So, I just try to pay the game back.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his role now with the Nets specifically, he restrained himself from making any bold predictions in terms of team success, but also acknowledged the opportunity to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we just got to lean into each other, take it day by day, step by step, and just keep building,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna say what we\u2019re gonna do or we\u2019re not gonna do, but I know we\u2019re gonna come in every day with the right mindset, right professionalism, and just get better every single day. I believe in a lot of these young guys, the talent that we have, and then some of the older guys, \u2014 MPJ, Keon, Terrence, and you got Day\u2019Day [Day\u2019Ron Sharpe]. You got a lot of guys, a lot of talent, so it\u2019s really up to us, to build the chemistry and put it all together, and I feel like we will.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also spoke briefly on his relationship with Brown Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I talked to him. I try to talk to him a lot. I joked with him that I don\u2019t really watch a lot of college basketball, but the one game of his that I did watch was versus my Kentucky Wildcats, and he did us dirty. So, I gave him a little hell about that. But you know, it seems like he\u2019s got a great hand on his shoulders, very poised, calm, and confident. I like what I\u2019m seeing out here, as far as his pace of play. He plays at his own pace and can see the floor really well, so it\u2019s gonna be up to us vets to pick him up to speed and really get him going. But he\u2019s gonna be great. He\u2019s gonna have a great career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown Jr. also shared postgame that the Nets had a team dinner last night with Randle and Michael Porter Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot to talk to them for a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, just to be able to pick their brains means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Brooklyn is back in action tomorrow vs the Atlanta Hawks. The game will be on ESPN and is scheduled for tipoff at 8:00 p.m. EST. It will be the first game from the 28th pick, Joshua Jefferson, who couldn\u2019t even train with Brooklyn until the big trade involving Julius Randle and Nic Claxton was finalized earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s the back end of a back-to-back, don\u2019t expect the Nets\u2019 two backcourt mates to play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re the fan who refuses to get too high on Summer League, but also the kind who\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,1728,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-292935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-nets-scores","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}