Bridges had the final say by blocking Dennis Schroder’s attempted game-tying layup as time expired. He was mobbed by the Knicks (6-6) while his old team walked away. For Brunson, it was another defining moment in his Knicks tenure to save his team from a near collapse.

In a meeting of crosstown rivals, the Knicks hung on to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 124-122 in New York's second NBA Cup Group Play matchup on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Josh Hart was traded for one first-round pick. Mikal Bridges, the spotlighted player Friday for the interborough rivalry game, cost the Knicks five.

Karl-Anthony Towns' poor defense has been heavily scrutinized, but Mikal Bridges has been just as big of a problem on that end of the floor.

This time Jalen Brunson hit the shot. Two nights after his potential game-winner bounced in and out, Brunson’s trey with six seconds remaining beat the Nets on Friday night, 124-122, and avoided an epic collapse at MSG.

It was a first quarter for the ages for lightning rod Nets guard Cam Thomas, and an opening period from hell for a Knicks team that secured a 124-122 victory over their cross-bridge rival but is still working to shore its defensive processes after a notable pair of franchise-altering offseason moves.

Jalen Brunson made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left after the Knicks had blown a 21-point lead, and New York edged the Brooklyn Nets 124-122 on Friday night to improve to 2-0 in the NBA Cup.

The blockbuster trade that sent Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn to Broadway for five first-round draft picks, a second-rounder and a first-round pick swap felt like a seismic move that said a lot about the directions the two franchises were headed. The Knicks were going for it. The Nets were rebuilding again.