Knicks vs. Nets prediction: Bet on the Nets in New York battle

Both the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are back in the Big Apple after long NBA road trips.

The two area rivals meet Wednesday night at Barclays Center in their first matchup of the season.

The Knicks had just enough time to drop their bags off at home before venturing to Brooklyn as New York returned from a West Coast swing that saw the team split four games.

The most recent game was on Monday as the Knicks held off the Lakers in Los Angeles, 114-109, as five-point underdogs.

Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle combined for 56 points in the win, helping the Knicks improve to 8-8 away from Madison Square Garden.

The Nets will be happy to be home after dropping four of five games on their West Coast swing.

Brooklyn’s lone win came at Phoenix, while the Nets lost the final three contests to the Nuggets, Warriors and Jazz.

Prior to this road swing the Nets owned a 16-4-1 record against the spread on the season, but they managed just one cover in their last five games.

The Nets have won eight of their last 10 games at Barclays Center with each of those victories coming by seven or more points. 

Brooklyn guard Mikal Bridges has shot well this season but has struggled from the floor recently.

Bridges converted only 20-of-60 attempts from the field in his last four games but has been better at home, shooting 49.1% in games at Barclays.

The home team captured all four matchups last season. In fact, three of the four games were decided by double-digits, with the smallest margin coming in a seven-point home win by Brooklyn.

Let’s back the Nets in this spot to continue their home domination of the Knicks, who are banged up in the frontcourt with Mitchell Robinson (ankle) out and Jericho Sims (ankle) questionable.

Pick: Nets +1.5 (-110, PointsBet)