NEW YORK — In a thrilling finish, Jalen Brunson drained a crucial 3-pointer with just 6.2 seconds remaining, leading the New York Knicks to a 124-122 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. This win improved the Knicks’ record to 2-0 in the NBA Cup, despite nearly squandering a 21-point advantage during the game.

Brunson, who previously missed a last-second opportunity in a loss to the Chicago Bulls earlier in the week, stepped up when it mattered most this time, putting up an impressive 37 points. In addition to Brunson’s contributions, OG Anunoby scored 25 points, and Mikal Bridges added 22 points against his former team. Bridges also played a pivotal role defensively by partially blocking Dennis Schroder’s potential game-tying layup during the final moments.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had a standout performance, scoring a remarkable 43 points, marking his ninth career game with at least 40 points and his second such game at Madison Square Garden this season.

The Knicks played without their starting center Karl-Anthony Towns, who sat out due to a bruised left knee. Despite this, New York held a 98-77 lead with 30 seconds left in the third quarter but needed to fight hard to secure the victory in the opener of this weekend’s series. The two teams are set to clash again on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, where the court will revert to its regular color after being orange for Friday night’s tournament match.

Observations from the game:

**Nets:** With starting center Nic Claxton sidelined for at least a week due to a lower back strain—having undergone an epidural injection on Friday—the Nets faced further challenges in terms of depth. As a result, they were outmatched on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 45-37.

**Knicks:** New York had an opportunity to secure a larger victory margin, which could be significant in case of tiebreakers in the tournament standings.

**Crucial Play:** A pivotal moment unfolded with 4:15 left in the game when Nets coach Jordi Fernandez contested a call on a ball ruled out of bounds off Dorian Finney-Smith. After a review, officials determined that Anunoby had committed a foul on Finney-Smith before the ball went out, leading to Anunoby’s sixth foul and forcing him to exit the game, which significantly impacted the Knicks’ dynamics.

**Noteworthy Stat:** With this victory, the Knicks have regained the lead in the historical series against their city rivals, now sitting at 108-107.