The Nets and Knicks aren’t just separated by five miles. And the East River. They’re on opposite ends of the basketball world.

But at its core, the simplest metric tells the story best: No team is erupting for big quarters as often as the Knicks, who scored 83 points in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday before blowing the Nets out of the water with a 40-point first quarter at home on Sunday.

Jordi Fernandez opened up on the Nets' struggles following their blowout loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“I think we’re growing as a team. It was definitely a problem for us last year, third quarters, especially the playoffs, [they] were not our friend,” Jalen Brunson said after the Knicks’ 134-98 win over the Nets on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. “So we’re trying to address it as best we can. It starts with the little things.”

The Knicks seemed to do that just fine, playing their game as they continued to show off a potent and diverse offense. They easily coasted past the Nets, 134-98, for their fourth straight win, improving to 6-0 at Madison Square Garden and 6-3 overall.

The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks meet in an Eastern Conference clash from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Sunday evening.

On Sunday night, Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks take on the Brooklyn Nets in a crosstown rivalry matchup.

It hasn't been a pretty season for the Brooklyn Nets thus far, as they fell to the New York Knicks 134-98 on Sunday. Coming into the season, it was well known t