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.

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.

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.

The Knicks landed Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster deal last summer that sent shockwaves across the NBA. Whether or not he actually forced his way out of Brooklyn, as some reported, is anyone’s guess. The move was designed to further bolster New York’s championship odds.

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.

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.