NEW YORK – James Johnson converted two go-ahead free throws as Brooklyn Nets escaped with a 112-110 win over New York Knicks in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
With the score tied at 110-all, Johnson surged the Brooklyn on top, 112-110, with 2.2 seconds left after drawing a foul from New York center Mitchell Robinson.
Johnson finished the match with seven points while going perfect on the field to go with two rebounds, one assist and a block The Nets stayed on top in the Eastern Conference at 15-6.
James Harden and Kevin Durant carried Brooklyn all the way with the former tallying 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and the latter converting 27 points, including 11 in the final six minutes.
It was a game of runs with the Nets building a 45-36 lead in the second quarter behind Harden and rookie Cameron Thomas only to be erased by the furious Knicks rampage to take a 61-60 halftime edge.
Brooklyn unloaded 14 straight points to start the second half for its biggest lead of 16 points but New York responded with a rally to keep the match close in the fourth canto.
Alec Burks scored a season-high 25 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. Julius Randle added 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Knicks dropped to 11-10.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers (12-11) came alive in the second half. It defeat Sacramento Kings (8-14), 117-92, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
Anthony Davis tallied 25 points and seven rebounds. Russell Westbrook and Malik Monk added 23 and 22, respectively, while Dwight Howard had 12 points and 13 boards for the Lakers.
LeBron James was absent in the match after entering the league’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19. The Lakers star said he was asymptomatic.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 112 — Harden 34, Durant 27, Thomas 12, Mills 10, Aldridge 8, Johnson 7, Bembry 6, Brown 6, Millsap 2, Carter 0.
NEW YORK 110 — Burks 25, Randle 24, Rose 16, Fournier 13, Quickley 12, Robinson 8, Toppin 8, Barrett 4, Noel 0, Grimes 0.
Quarterscores: 33-28, 60-61, 88-84, 112-110./PN
