Day: January 16, 2018

If you must go on a seven-game road trip that probably will determine the fate of your season, you might as well start it with all the comforts of home. That is exactly the way it worked out for the Knicks, who treated the Nets’ court as if it were their own living room and, for a change, looked comfortable with a lead, too.

Frank Ntilikina acknowledged he had been thinking too much during the previous few games and admitted he might have hit the rookie wall. But he busted through it Monday, and at just the right time for the Knicks.

For the third time in three games this season, the Nets got cuffed around by the Knicks like a scrawny younger brother. Their small lineup was no match for the bigger, more physical Knicks, who beat them up in dominating fashion in the fourth quarter of a 119-104 victory in Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee at Barclays Center.

D’Angelo Russell moved a step closer to returning from arthroscopic knee surgery when he was assigned to the Long Island Nets for a full practice Monday morning before being recalled after the workout. Coach Kenny Atkinson called it “good news” for Russell and the Nets.

Tim Hardaway Jr. was a healthy scratch Monday. The Knicks gave him the day off after he logged nearly 33 minutes in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Pelicans.

The New York Knicks want to help four entrepreneurs “make it.”

Kristaps Porzingis outshined the competition in a battle between New York City teams that have failed to develop the rivalry once expected of them.

Trey Burke brought a new look at point guard — even if it was only for eight minutes. Making his Knicks debut, the newly signed jitterbug sparked the Knicks in a six-minute stint during the second quarter. Burke, the former Jazz lottery bust, showed a terrific handle — a dazzling dribbler Jarrett Jack never was…

Joe Tsai — expected to become the Nets’ new co-owner — made a rare visit to Barclays Center to watch his future team play. What he saw was the Nets get bullied and beat up, losing 119-104 to the rival Knicks. What he saw was their building get taken over, the sellout crowd of 17,732…

The three previous games it was noticeable. Very noticeable. But the struggles for Knicks rookie Frank Ntilikina extended beyond the losses to the Bulls, Timberwolves and Pelicans when he shot a combined 1 of 8, scored two points and committed nine turnovers against eight assists. “The last few games, he wasn’t really in rhythm,” teammate…

With a new mindset, Kristaps Porzingis staged his most efficient game of 2018 as the Knicks continued to have the Nets’ number. Starting their seven-game road trip with a bang, the slumping Knicks manhandled the Nets, 119-104, in a Martin Luther King Day matinee at Barclays Center. Porzingis poured in 26 points in 27 minutes…

With the Knicks remaining cautious after he soared over his minutes limit in Sunday’s overtime loss to New Orleans, Tim Hardaway Jr. sat out Monday’s second leg of a back-to-back against the Nets. After playing 25 minutes in his return Friday in Minnesota and an extended 33 minutes in the overtime loss against the Pelicans…

Normally players lose weight during the season, a natural consequence of the nonstop cardio. Michael Beasley gained 30 pounds.

If only the Knicks always had the Nets to boost their confidence.

Knicks rookie guard Frank Ntilikina came up just shy of his first-career triple-double in Monday’s 119-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.

The Knicks outscored the Nets 36-23 in the fourth quarter en route to a 119-104 win on Monday at Barclays Center.

In his first season as the Knicks’ franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis admits it has been a challenge to live up to the expectations placed on him.

NEW YORK — The road struggles of the New York Knicks already are a focal point. Their issues away from midtown Manhattan are about to become even more magnified if they continue.

Kristaps Porzingis is just 44 games into his role as the No. 1 option in an NBA offense, so the flashes of brilliance could yet become a regular thing.