Rockets Vs Knicks: Towns, Brunson fuel 18-point comeback at Madison Square Garden
In a wild rockets vs knicks showdown Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 108-106, a comeback that became the team’s largest of the season.
Fourth-quarter burst seals the 108-106 finish
The Knicks outscored Houston 33-15 in the fourth quarter to erase the 18-point hole. Karl-Anthony Towns scored seven of his team-high 27 points in that period, and Jalen Brunson hit all four of his field goals in the final 12 minutes — finishing with 20 points and seven assists — including the go-ahead bucket that turned the game.
Rockets Vs Knicks: Brunson’s late sequence
Brunson’s comeback unfolded in a string of decisive plays. He drilled a jumper to pull New York within four with 4: 40 left, drew a charge on Amen Thompson two possessions later, sank another jumper to get within two, and hit a layup with 1: 14 left to tie the game at 103. He then took a charge on Kevin Durant and crossed up Tari Eason before drilling a 15-footer to give the Knicks a two-point lead with 21. 2 seconds remaining.
Towns pushes defense, forces momentum shift
The first 36 minutes had felt "lifeless, listless and lost, " but Towns challenged his teammates after the third quarter and set a defensive tone. He began the fourth by forcing Alperen Sengun into a bad shot and later said, "I said we could win this game; I've seen us do it. I wanted to do my part and get that stop from there on, just wanted to set the tone for our team and intensity level we needed to play for 12 minutes and come out with a win. " Coach Mike Brown echoed that KAT led the charge defensively and noted he’d simplified the offense to fit Towns and the roster.
Role players flip the script in the fourth
Trade-deadline addition Jose Alvarado provided a spark down the stretch. He registered his second five-steal game with three of those steals coming in the final quarter and posted five points and three steals in the key fourth-quarter stretch. OG Anunoby, who paced the Knicks with 16 in the first half before scoring just four in the second, drilled both free throws with 5. 4 seconds left to ice the game. Landry Shamet added 14 points off the bench and logged key minutes over Mikal Bridges late.
Rockets’ late collapse, Durant contained
New York forced nine fourth-quarter turnovers while committing just one. The Knicks held Kevin Durant — the league’s 11th-highest scorer — to 2-for-7 shooting in the fourth; Durant entered the period with 25 points but added just five the rest of the way, three of them coming on a 3-pointer after Anunoby’s free throws. With the Rockets sitting 18th in clutch situations — NBA-defined games within five points with five minutes or less — coach Ime Udoka lamented the recurring collapse: "It's just the same story. And we've lost too many games like this with big leads. It's not just time to freestyle. And like I said, turnovers hurt, but bad offen" (unfinished in the provided context).
From boos to celebration — what changed
Boos echoed through Madison Square Garden when Houston seized control, but New York’s defensive stop-and-score swing swung the arena back. Brunson had not made a field goal until 4: 21 left in the third quarter, missing his first five attempts and entering halftime with just two points free throws; he finished by scoring eight points in the fourth and going 4-for-4 from the field. Brown summed it simply: "We found a way. "
Shaquille O'Neal appears in a 1: 36 clip offering advice to Towns on winning a championship and crediting him for his performance in the win.
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