We’ve seen this movie before: Lakers fans, still feeling jilted from July, were vocal at the Clippers season opener and booed Kawhi Leonard. (Leonard had the last laugh.)
Friday night it was Knicks fans using the same playbook.
New York traveled over the bridge to Brooklyn to take on the Nets and plenty of Knicks fans came with them to take over parts of Barclay’s’ Centre (which is pretty typical for these cross-Burrough matchups). When Irving went to the free throw line, Knicks fans let the boos rain down.
Kyrie receiving boos at the free throw line in Barclays..
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 26, 2019
Knicks fans are out in Brooklyn 🗣 pic.twitter.com/9jSnW3GNb3
Knicks fans are frustrated Irving and Kevin Durant chose Brooklyn over Manhattan and the orange and blue. The direction of their frustration is misdirected, but the players ultimately made the call.
The Nets got off to the fast start and led by nine after a quarter, and kept a double-digit lead through most of the second and third quarters thanks to Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie getting buckets.
But this started to feel like a real rivalry and the game got chippy later when Bobby Portis tried to rip the ball out of Irving’s hands after the whistle blew.
Knicks and Nets getting into it 😳 pic.twitter.com/IQ96J6J1rD
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) October 26, 2019
This is a good thing, we need a real rivalry in New York.
