Brunson’s Late Flares Complete Knicks’ Biggest Rally in Rockets Vs Knicks Win
The Knicks erased an 18-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets 108-106 on Saturday night, completing their largest comeback of the season. The rockets vs knicks matchup flipped in the final 12 minutes as Jalen Brunson transformed a quiet night into a series of decisive plays.
Jalen Brunson’s fourth-quarter surge
Brunson endured one of his poorest offensive showings of the year through three quarters — he missed his first five field-goal attempts and did not make a shot from the field until 4: 21 remained in the third quarter, leaving him with just two points at halftime, both on free throws. He flipped the script in the fourth, scoring eight points and going 4-for-4 from the field in the period.
The sequence that finished the game began with a jumper that pulled New York within four with 4: 40 left. Two possessions later he drew a charge on Amen Thompson to regain possession. Two more possessions after that he buried another jumper to cut the deficit to two. With 1: 14 remaining he hit a layup to knot the score at 103-103 and then accepted a charge on Kevin Durant. Brunson crossed up Tari Eason and sank a 15-foot jumper with 21. 2 seconds left to give the Knicks a two-point lead that held up for the 108-106 final.
Madison Square Garden reaction and the comeback mechanics
When the Knicks fell behind by 18 early in the fourth, boos echoed through Madison Square Garden as the team looked headed for a second straight ugly loss coming out of the All-Star break. Defensive intensity changed the tone: New York forced nine Rockets turnovers in the fourth while committing just one, a swing that allowed the comeback to unfold and ultimately produced the season-high rally.
Rockets Vs Knicks: Durant slowed, late scoring dried up
Kevin Durant arrived at the fourth quarter with 25 points but managed just five more the rest of the way, shooting 2-for-7 in the period. Three of those late points were a 3-pointer that came after OG Anunoby’s free throws. The Rockets’ defensive plan had doubled Brunson for much of the night, prompting him to defer early; as the fourth quarter progressed he began to take control.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ challenge and game-high performance
Karl-Anthony Towns — whose role in the offense drew scrutiny after the Knicks’ blowout loss to the Pistons on Thursday — finished with a game-high 25 points, adding seven in the fourth. Coach Mike Brown credited Towns with challenging teammates about defense before the period began. Towns insisted the rally started with the first possession of the fourth: get a stop, set a tone and sustain intensity for the full 12 minutes, he said, and he said he wanted to do his part to set that level.
Bench contributions: Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet and OG Anunoby
Role players supplied crucial minutes down the stretch. Jose Alvarado produced five points and three steals during the key fourth-quarter stretch that helped flip momentum. Landry Shamet scored 14 off the bench and logged important minutes late, a deployment that again came at the expense of Mikal Bridges — a recurring rotation decision by Brown. OG Anunoby paced the Knicks with 16 in the first half but managed only four in the second; his two free throws with 5. 4 seconds left helped ice the victory.
Brown summed up the finish bluntly: "We found a way. " He later added that Brunson had fallen into a groove in crunch time, noting that it did not matter who was defending him because Brunson kept finding ways to score. Brunson himself said he did not like how he was playing early and decided to switch his approach, emphasizing a downhill mentality and aggressive decision-making that paid off in the closing stretch.
The win snapped the immediate momentum heading into the post–All-Star portion of the schedule and stood as New York’s largest comeback of the season, a reversal that hinged on tightened defense, late offensive clarity from Brunson and timely contributions from the supporting cast.
