Jalen Brunson was phenomenal, scoring 42 points, and the New York Knicks bounced back to get the better of the Houston Rockets 124-118 in a fantastic NBA battle at Madison Square Garden on Monday, MySportDab Reports.
The Knicks seemed to be on the way to another home loss, a second straight after Saturday’s humbling by the Los Angeles Lakers, as the Rockets built as much as an 11-point cushion early in the fourth quarter. But the game took a wild turn when New York erupted for an astonishing 46-point fourth quarter to overturn the game on its head.
Brunson led the charge, scoring 17 of his points in the game-altering final quarter. His two clutch free throws in the final seconds sealed a win that keeps the Knicks in third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges scored 22 each to support Brunson’s offensive heroics, and Josh Hart added 19 points. Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau could only admire his team’s endurance.
“You have to win games in different fashions,” Thibodeau said. “We dug ourselves in a hole, but we found a way to win. I really liked how we answered back in the fourth.”
That defeat was a missed opportunity for the third-seeded Rockets, in the Western Conference, who looked dominant for large stretches before succumbing to the Knicks’ unrelenting late-game pressure.
Thunder Run Away with Game Against Shorthanded Bucks
Out other NBA action, the Oklahoma City Thunder took advantage of a weakened Milwaukee Bucks outfit to breeze to a 125-96 win. With stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard out, the Bucks couldn’t keep in step with the Thunder, who bolted ahead to a 44-point lead in the third quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder in scoring with 34 points in only 22 minutes of play, and Ousmane Dieng had 21 points off the bench. Oklahoma City is 39-9, a game and a half clear in the Western Conference standings.
Grizzlies, Nuggets and Warriors Notch Victories
The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 128-109, behind 31 points from Jaren Jackson Jr. and 27 points off the bench from GG Jackson. Victor Wembanyama scored 27 points to lead the Spurs.
In Denver, Nikola Jokic notched his 23rd triple-double of the campaign with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the Nuggets’ 125-113 victory against the Pelicans. Michael Porter Jr. led the charge with 36 points.
Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors got past the Orlando Magic 104-99, with Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry teaming up for 49 points.
Booker Sets Suns Record, but Blazers Come Out on Top
In Portland, Devin Booker passed Walter Davis as the all-time leading scorer of the Phoenix Suns, topping Davis’s franchise record of 15,666 points. The Suns didn’t win, but they came close in overtime, losing to the Trail Blazers, 121-119, after Booker could not hit a big free throw in the game’s final seconds.
