Rockets Vs Knicks: Towns’ Challenge Sparks 18-Point Comeback at Madison Square Garden
The Knicks erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Rockets 108-106 at Madison Square Garden, overturning a game that had left the arena booing earlier. The comeback in the fourth quarter, driven by a defensive reset and late scoring from Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, turned a likely loss into the Knicks’ largest comeback of the season in a single game of rockets vs knicks play.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ fourth-quarter push
Karl-Anthony Towns insisted the turnaround started with defense. He forced Alperen Sengun into a bad shot to open the period and scored seven points in the fourth to set the tone for the rally. One account lists Towns with a team-high 27 points; another lists him with a game-high 25 points—unclear in the provided context. Coach Mike Brown said Towns challenged the team in the huddle after the third quarter, and that challenge preceded the Knicks’ 33-15 advantage in the final period.
Jalen Brunson’s sequence of late plays
Jalen Brunson’s turnaround began when he drilled a jumper to pull New York within four with 4: 40 remaining. Over the final minutes he drew a charge on Amen Thompson, hit another jumper to cut the deficit to two, and with 1: 14 left tied the game at 103-103 with a layup. Brunson then took a charge on Kevin Durant and, after crossing up Tari Eason, hit a 15-footer to give the Knicks a two-point lead with 21. 2 seconds left. Brunson finished with 20 points and seven assists, having missed his first five field-goal attempts and not making a field goal until 4: 21 left in the third; he was 4-for-4 from the field in the fourth and scored eight points in that quarter.
Jose Alvarado and bench impact in the fourth
Trade-deadline addition Jose Alvarado provided a spark: he recorded his second five-steal game as a Knick, with three of those steals coming in the final quarter, and added five points in the key stretch. Landry Shamet contributed 14 points off the bench and played important minutes down the stretch in place of Mikal Bridges, a move coach Brown has made repeatedly. OG Anunoby, who had scored 16 in the first half, managed just four points in the second half but sank both free throws with 5. 4 seconds left to ice the victory.
Rockets Vs Knicks fourth-quarter stat swing and defensive cause-effect
The fourth-quarter collapse hinged on turnovers and tightened defense. The Knicks forced nine Rockets turnovers in the final period while committing just one, and they outscored Houston 33-15 over those 12 minutes. Kevin Durant entered the fourth with 25 points but was held to 2-for-7 shooting and added just five points after the break, as the Rockets’ offense devolved into isolations and turnovers. The Knicks’ defensive stop on the first possession of the fourth and subsequent pressure directly led to the scoring burst that erased the 18-point deficit.
Coaches’ reactions and team context
Brown had explicitly set the pecking order before the game—Brunson first, then Towns, then everyone else—and said the offense had been simplified to fit Towns and the roster. Brown praised his players’ resilience, noting there were times they could have folded. Rockets coach Ime Udoka lamented a recurring pattern of losing big leads and singled out turnovers and a lack of discipline late as decisive factors. The Rockets sit 18th in clutch situations, defined as games within five points with five minutes or less, a status that left them vulnerable once New York applied late pressure.
What makes this notable is how quickly a single defensive adjustment translated into a 33-15 quarter, turning an 18-point deficit into a two-point win in the closing seconds. The sequence—Towns’ challenge, a flurry of Knicks steals, Brunson’s composed finishing and key bench contributions—produced the measurable swing that decided the game.
