Analyzing Friday’s Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

On Friday evening, the New York Knicks will host the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. For the game, the Knicks could be without one of their best players, as All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns is on the injury report.

Knicks fans were mostly ecstatic. Nets fans were disappointed but understood. 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 Nets lost to the Celtics 139-114 despite being down just 65-60 to the defending NBA champions. Ziaire Williams had his best game in a Nets uniform as he dropped 23 points and six rebounds while Cam Thomas had 17 points and three assists.

But when the Celtics play like they did in the third quarter, when they rang up 38 points and were 7 for 11 behind the arc, nights like those will be rare. Nets: The Nets should like what they're seeing from Williams,

Boston Top Performers Jayson Tatum – 36 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, 5 3PM Joins Antoine Walker as the only players in Celtics franchise history to record 35+ points, 10+ assists, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ 3PM Jaylen Brown – 24 points,