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.

The offense has been spectacular, the defense has been anything but, and it has added up to a 6-6 record after Jalen Brunson hit a game-winner to defeat the Brooklyn Nets, 124-122 on Friday. New York didn't make it easy on itself.

Bridges, who the Knicks acquired from the Nets in the summer for a boatload of draft picks, dropped an efficient 22 points in 41 minutes, easing the criticism, though certainly not shutting them up, about his rough start in Manhattan .

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.

Jalen Brunson sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left Friday night for the host New York Knicks, who squandered all of a 21-point lead before edging the Brooklyn Nets 124-122 in NBA Cup Group A action Dennis Schroder's 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining gave the Nets their first lead since the first quarter.