Jalen Brunson and the Knicks were a misfiring mess all night, but apparently it’s never too late to get off the struggle bus against the pathetic Nets. See Also New York Knicks Cade Cunningham’s absence has major Knicks ripple effects — and a potential playoff silver lining An inexcusable defeat Friday night was only averted because Brooklyn couldn’t generate a potential game-winner at the buzzer — instead mismanaging an out-of-bounds play

Better late than never. The orange and blue streak lives on in New York City. It was only a matter of time before reality set in at Barclays Center, where a Nets team with zero incentive to win — save for putting up some semblance of a fight against the Knicks — exposed what’s become a fatal flaw: slow starts that have undermined all the successes New York has enjoyed in the first