Rockets Vs Knicks: Towns’ Challenge Sparks 33-15 Fourth-Quarter Rally to Stun Rockets 108-106

The Knicks erased an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets 108-106 at Madison Square Garden in a comeback defined by defense and late-game poise in the Rockets Vs Knicks matchup. What mattered was a 33-15 final-period run, a flurry of turnovers forced, and decisive plays from Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson that flipped a game that felt lost.

Karl-Anthony Towns’ fourth-quarter spark at Madison Square Garden

Karl-Anthony Towns set the tone to open the fourth by forcing Alperen Sengun into a bad shot, then challenged his teammates in the huddle after the third quarter to focus on defense. One account lists Towns scoring seven points in the fourth as part of a team-high 27 for the game; another account lists him finishing with a game-high 25. That discrepancy is unclear in the provided context. Coaching adjustments had already simplified the offense to fit Towns’ role, and head coach Mike Brown had designated a clear pecking order before tipoff: Jalen Brunson first, then Towns, then everybody else.

Jalen Brunson’s late heroics and charges

Jalen Brunson, who had a rough start and did not make a field goal until late in the third quarter, produced a string of clutch plays down the stretch. He drilled a jumper to pull the Knicks within four with 4: 40 left, drew a charge on Amen Thompson two possessions later, hit another jumper to cut the margin to two, and with 1: 14 remaining converted a layup to tie the game at 103. Brunson then crossed up Tari Eason and hit a 15-footer with 21. 2 seconds left for the eventual go-ahead basket. He finished the night with 20 points and seven assists and went 4-for-4 from the field in the fourth quarter after scoring just two points at halftime free throws.

Jose Alvarado and OG Anunoby’s contributions in the fourth

Trade-deadline addition Jose Alvarado provided a defensive jolt: he completed his second five-steal game with the Knicks, recording three of those steals in the final quarter, and contributed five points in that key stretch. OG Anunoby paced the team with 16 in the first half but scored just four in the second; he did, however, sink both free throws with 5. 4 seconds left to seal the victory. Landry Shamet supplied 14 points off the bench and played critical minutes down the stretch, a recurring roster decision by Brown that has often favored Shamet over Mikal Bridges.

Rockets Vs Knicks: fourth-quarter turnovers and Durant’s late struggles

The Knicks forced nine turnovers in the fourth quarter while committing only one, a swing that coincided with the 33-15 closing run. Houston entered the period with Kevin Durant carrying 25 points but held him to 2-for-7 shooting in the fourth; he added just five more points the rest of the way, three coming on a 3-pointer after Anunoby’s late free throws. The Rockets’ tendency to rely on isolations and their standing as 18th in clutch situations left them vulnerable to the Knicks’ pressure and timely 3-point shooting.

Coaching decisions, momentum and the broader significance

Mike Brown credited a search for effective lineups and the team’s refusal to fold when boos filled Madison Square Garden as the game slipped away. He said the insertion of Alvarado created a spark and emphasized the simplified scheme to accommodate Towns. Rockets coach Ime Udoka lamented a recurring pattern, summing it up as “It’s just the same story” and pointing to turnovers and playing off-script with big leads as culprits. Shaquille O’Neal also offered advice to Towns and publicly acknowledged his role in the comeback.

What makes this notable is how a defensive reset and two late-personal-performance adjustments—Towns’ vocal challenge and Brunson’s shift from passive to aggressive—produced a 33-15 quarter and turned an 18-point hole into the Knicks’ largest comeback of the season. The timing matters because the game followed a blowout loss to the Pistons on Thursday and came on the heels of the All-Star break, tests of the team’s resilience that the Knicks answered in a high-leverage moment.

The sequence left clear takeaways: clutch defense produced turnovers and momentum, targeted lineup changes paid immediate dividends, and individual shifts — Brunson’s late shooting and Towns’ defensive push — directly caused the dramatic turnaround that produced the 108-106 finish at Madison Square Garden.