Knicks survive Cam Thomas’ 41-point game, finish sweep of Nets with 111-107 win

An upset was brewing early in Friday’s fourth and final inner-borough matchup between the Nets and Knicks at Madison Square Garden. But to the surprise of few, it was not sustainable.

The Knicks, trying to lock up a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, missed their first five shots. The Nets, who were eliminated from postseason contention last week, took advantage and raced out to an 11-0 lead.

Tom Thibodeau’s team was playing in the second game of a back-to-back set after dismantling the Boston Celtics, 118-109, on Thursday at TD Garden, so some fatigue was expected. The Knicks were also without a major interior presence in Isaiah Hartenstein.

But Brooklyn was in far worse shape. Cam Johnson, Dennis Schröder and Day’Ron Sharpe were ruled out before tip-off. The Nets were already missing Dennis Smith Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith and others.

Interim head coach Kevin Ollie had his team ready to play regardless. The Nets, who trotted out a starting lineup of Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, Trendon Watford, Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton, led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter and had a 15-point advantage with 3:40 left in the first half.

The 14 points surrendered by Brooklyn in the first quarter were the second-fewest it has allowed in any quarter all season. Its early fight was admirable, all things considered.

“We knew we were short-handed, so everybody was just hooping and we were just getting stops,” Watford said. “We started off how we started off in the first half and we pretty much kept that up through the first half.”

But no one assumed the Nets’ lead was safe, and every fan, player and coach inside Madison Square Garden knew the Knicks were not just going to lay down. And the storm eventually came in the form of a 16-10 Knicks run, which trimmed what was once a 17-point Nets lead down to just nine at halftime.

Thomas had it going offensively, though. The 22-year-old had 11 points in his first eight minutes on the court and doubled that by halftime.

“That’s the Cam Thomas we want,” Ollie said. “Fearless… He’s built for these stages.”

However, it was suddenly a tie game just two minutes into the third quarter. A Jalen Brunson 3-pointer with 7:30 left in the quarter gave the Knicks their first lead of the night. And the avalanche only continued from there.

Fueled by an onslaught of 3-pointers from Brunson and OG Anunoby, the Knicks woke up, outscoring the Nets 30-13 in a third quarter where Brooklyn shot just 29.4% from the field.

“[Too many] turnovers,” Thomas said. “They got some transition layups, and then Anunoby hit some tough shots. We’ll live with that.”

But the Knicks needed a little more than that third-quarter push to walk away with a 111-107 win. Despite how well they played in the second half, it was just a two-point game with just over four minutes left in the final frame after Nets rookie Jalen Wilson converted a tough layup through contact. Then a Watford layup, this time off a smooth dish from Thomas, made it a one-point game with 2:50 left in regulation.

But it was still Brunson’s house. Wilson forced one miss against the All-Star guard with under 42 seconds to play. But the Nets could not secure the rebound, and Wilson could not stop him twice, making it a 107-102 game in the Knicks’ favor with 28 seconds left.

And that was pretty much the ball game. Three Thomas free throws kept things interesting late. But an inspiring start ended with another disappointing loss for Brooklyn. And with Friday’s defeat, the Nets were officially swept by the Knicks this season, suffering two losses at Barclays Center and two more at Madison Square Garden.

“I just love how our guys punched and how we finished the game,” Ollie said.

The Knicks secured at least a top-four seed and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with their 49th win of the season. The Nets, who had won three of four games entering the night, fell to 32-49 this season.

Thomas led all scorers with 41 points, but four of the Knicks’ starters finished in double figures, led by Brunson, who had 30 points and 11 assists. And this was a game Brooklyn was in perfect position to win despite being short-handed. The Nets shot the ball better than the Knicks overall, outrebounded them 45-21, and won the paint battle 52-40.

Turnovers and fouling ultimately killed the Nets. They had 14 giveaways, which led to 14 points for the Knicks. And the Knicks also went 21-of-25 from the free throw line while the Nets went 14-of-19.

“They made some tough shots, Brunson got going, they got to the free throw line,” Watford said. “OG showed up big time in the third quarter, so I think that’s where the biggest momentum shift was.”

Brooklyn will play its final regular-season game on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, while the playoff-bound Knicks will host the Chicago Bulls.

“We want to go through the finish line so that’s the way we’re looking at it,” Thibodeau said. “We want to improve and play our best.”