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Sports

Unstoppable Brunson takes charge as Knicks disarm Rockets

Alder Almo - Philstar.com
Unstoppable Brunson takes charge as Knicks disarm Rockets
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks heads for the net as Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets defends during their NBA game at the Madison Square Garden on February 03, 2025 in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Rockets, 124-118.
Elsa / Getty Images / AFP

NEW YORK – Jalen Brunson came through just when the New York Knicks needed their captain. 

Brunson fired 17 points in the fourth quarter as he carried the Knicks on his back to a gutsy win and cemented himself as one of the franchise greats. 

Brunson’s 42-point virtuoso performance powered the Knicks’ come-from-behind 124-118 win over the shorthanded Houston Rockets on Monday night (Tuesday Manila time) at Madison Square Garden. 

It was Brunson’s 18th 40-point game, passing Carmelo Anthony for the third-most in franchise history just in his third season with the Knicks.

Down 11 after the first three quarters, New York outscored Houston 46-29 for the 17-point turnaround, much to the chagrin of Rockets coach Ime Udoka. 

“We scored enough points to win but [we’re] very soft and uncompetitive defensively, just going at us one-on-one and we're complaining about offensive fouls, not boxing out, not doing our assignment… Even our supposed defenders got cooked,” Udoka said. 

Brunson was unstoppable and unflappable, especially down the stretch. He scored 17 of the Knicks’ last 26 points. The Knicks captain went 5-for-6 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line during crunch time.

His layup with 1:38 remaining gave the Knicks a 115-114 lead in a see-saw battle that saw 20 lead changes. Then he followed it up with a cold-blooded three-pointer with 60 seconds left over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-8 Tari Eason for the dagger. 

“We know what we’re capable of,” Brunson said. “We put ourselves in those positions. Obviously, we give [Houston] credit, but our [poor] decision-making led us down to double digits. We knew that we were at fault and we knew they were not going to quit, so we had to step it up. Just having the confidence in each other knowing we’re not going to quit.”

Brunson stepped up big time in their first game this season without starting forward OG Anunoby, who suffered a midfoot sprain in their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday. 

The Rockets started small without three of their key players All-Star Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. They outran the Knicks and played a physical game that got New York center Karl-Anthony Towns in early foul trouble. 

The Knicks had no answer to the Rockets’ uber-athletic second-year guard Amen Thompson, who had 21 points in the first three quarters. But they clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter, limiting Thompson to only four points.

Thompson, the fourth overall pick in 2023, finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, his third career triple-double. 

“You have to win games different ways,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We knew it would be that type of game of the physicality, of playing small, the aggressiveness of it and then we got in a hole but we found a way to win. I love the way we responded in the fourth quarter. Whatever it was going to take, we were going to do.”

Without Anunoby, the Knicks top perimeter defender, Mikal Bridges stepped up defensively. 

Bridges held Filipino-American guard Jalen Green, the Rockets’ leading scorer, to just six points on 2-of-7 shooting in the fourth quarter. Green shot 9-of-22 overall as he bled for his 21 points.

“Just be aggressive,” Bridges said of his defense on Green. “Play smart. Like I always said I have four teammates behind me to help me. So, it’s not just one-on-one. I just try to do my job, follow the scouting report and just play hard.”

Bridges was a two-way force, finishing with 22 points and a game-high plus-19 plus-minus. Towns also had 22 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 54 seconds left.

Brunson added 10 assists to become the only sixth Knicks player in franchise history to have a 40-point, 10-assist game.

“That's the beauty of his game is whatever the game needs and, obviously, I think that the start of the fourth was really good,” Thibodeau said of Brunson. “He got a little bit of a rest there. And those bench guys Cam [Payne] and Deuce [McBride] gave us a big lift. And that gave him his rest. And he came back with energy and then there was a determination by everybody out there to get it done. So, it was great communication. It was hustle. People were connected. And when that happens, good things come from that.”

McBride and Payne combined for 12 points off the bench, including five in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Knicks improved to 33-17 and maintained a four-game advantage over the Indiana Pacers (28-20) for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They are trailing the defending champion Boston Celtics (35-15) by two games with their showdown looming on the weekend. 

The Rockets (32-17) dropped their third game in a row after an 11-4 record in January. They remain third in the Western Conference, trailing the Memphis Grizzlies (34-16) by 1.5 games. 

 

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for US-based publication Heavy.com.

JALEN BRUNSON

JALEN GREEN

KNICKS

NBA

NEW YORK

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