Rockets Vs Knicks — rockets vs knicks: Brunson’s late heroics lift Knicks in 108-106 comeback

The Knicks rallied from an 18-point hole early in the fourth quarter to win 108-106, a comeback driven by Jalen Brunson’s late scoring and defensive plays in the rockets vs knicks matchup. The victory snapped what had looked like a looming second straight ugly loss coming out of the All-Star break and ended Saturday night with boos fading at Madison Square Garden.

Brunson’s sequence: jumpers, charges and a 15-footer in Rockets Vs Knicks

Brunson, who had been struggling through one of his worst offensive showings of the year, turned the game in the fourth quarter. He drilled a jumper to pull the Knicks within four with 4: 40 left, then drew a charge on Amen Thompson two possessions later to give his team the ball back. Two possessions after that he hit another jumper to get within two, and with 1: 14 remaining he converted a layup to tie the score at 103-103. Brunson then took a charge on Kevin Durant and, after crossing up Tari Eason, sank a 15-foot jumper to give the Knicks a two-point lead with 21. 2 seconds left.

Brunson’s earlier struggles and his turnaround

Brunson did not make a field goal until 4: 21 left in the third quarter after missing his first five attempts, and he had just two points at halftime, both from free throws. He finished the rally with eight fourth-quarter points, going 4-for-4 from the field in that period. Brunson said, "Didn’t like how I was playing. Decided that I had to switch it; that simple. It’s the mentality of trying to get downhill, make plays, not being hesitant, not being passive. If there are mistakes, they’re aggressive mistakes. Don’t want to be on your heels. I just feel like the first two quarters, I was. "

Towns’ challenge and a defensive shift sparked the comeback

Karl-Anthony Towns, whose involvement in the offense had been a major talking point after the Knicks’ blowout loss to the Pistons on Thursday, added seven points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 25. Coach Mike Brown credited Towns with challenging his teammates about their defense before the fourth, and Towns said, "I said, ‘We can win this game. I’ve seen us do it. It starts with the first possession of the fourth quarter, playing defense. We’ve gotta get a stop, it’s the most important possession of the game, the first play of the fourth quarter. ' I wanted to do my part as well. … I wanted to set the tone for our team and set the intensity level we needed to play for 12 minutes if we expected to come out with a win. " The Knicks forced the Rockets into nine fourth-quarter turnovers while committing just one themselves.

Key fourth-quarter contributions from Alvarado, Anunoby and Shamet

Jose Alvarado supplied five points and three steals in the pivotal fourth-quarter stretch as the Knicks mounted the comeback. OG Anunoby, who paced the Knicks with 16 points in the first half, scored just four points in the second half but drilled both free throws with 5. 4 seconds left to ice the game. Landry Shamet added 14 points off the bench and played important minutes down the stretch — a move that came over Mikal Bridges and has become a recurring rotation choice by Brown.

Rockets’ late struggles and Durant’s fourth-quarter fade

The Rockets’ offense stalled late. Kevin Durant entered the fourth quarter with 25 points but managed only five more on 2-for-7 shooting from the field the rest of the way; three of those points came on a 3-pointer after Anunoby’s free throws. Brown celebrated the result, saying, "We found a way. That’s what I’m most excited about. " He added of Brunson, "Jalen was in a groove. It didn’t matter who was on him; he found a way to score. "

The 108-106 win marked the Knicks’ largest comeback of the season and closed out a volatile night at Madison Square Garden that had seen boos emerge when the team trailed by 18 at the start of the fourth quarter.