It wasn’t just another night. It wasn’t just another game. 

It was a chance to earn respect, to seize momentum, to build confidence. It was as close to a title fight as the Nets may find for some time. They would travel roughly 5 miles to take on the reigning champs, facing the team whose stranglehold on their shared city has never been stronger and whose dominance in an uninspired rivalry has been a constant reminder of the chasm between the boroughs. 

“We need to get a win,” Nets guard Nolan Traore said before Monday’s game at Madison Square Garden. “It’s been a long time since we’ve won against the Knicks, so we’ve got to do it.” 

Incredibly, they almost did. 

Coming off their first win of the season the previous night in Indiana, the Nets looked unrecognizable from the punching bag that lost a pair of games at the Garden last season by a combined 90 points. For so much of Monday’s matchup, there was no discernible difference between one of the most celebrated champions in New York history and the team that spent the past two years chasing ping-pong balls. 

Michael Porter Jr. had 18 points, making four 3-pointers. Julius Randle had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Traore put up 17 points on eight shots, while adding a chase-down block of Jalen Brunson. 

And the Nets led by four in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. 

But then came the anvil — in the form of the Knicks’ 16-2 fourth-quarter run — crushing the coyote who somehow didn’t see it coming again. 

The Nets (1-6) scored just 11 points in the fourth quarter of the 103-90 loss, setting a season low in scoring to clinch a record-extending 15th straight loss in the 50-year series with the Knicks. 

“I mean, we played great for, if my math is correct, 39 minutes, and then the last nine were not good enough,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said. “I’m asking these guys to play as hard as they can, and the last two games they’ve done it, right? 

“There’s a lot of positives in this game to just throw everything out of the window and just think that we did[n’t do] good things.” 

The Nets’ most recent win in the series came nearly four years ago, but feels closer to 40. 

Shortly before Brooklyn broke up the superteam led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets secured their ninth straight win over the Knicks — who were in search of their first playoff series win in a decade — with a 122-115 win Jan. 28, 2023. 

Day’Ron Sharpe was there. So were Jalen Brunson and Deuce McBride, as well as Julius Randle, then with the Knicks. 

No other current player on either team was there. No one else could speak to the brief window when the Nets were the measuring stick, the team with its eye on the title. 

Who would believe it?