With a 108-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Julius Randle added 30 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, and the New York Knicks' winning streak reached four games.
After falling behind the Nets by nine points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, New York outscored them 32–18 to win the game, capping it off with a 10–3 run in the last two minutes.
For the Knicks, Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 points and OG Anunoby added 10.
Brunson, who finished the game with a 50% field goal percentage, declared the fourth quarter to be the Knicks' best 12-minute period.
“We just kept grinding. They were pretty much beating us all game. They were playing well. They started the game pretty well,” he said. “We couldn’t do anything about what we did in the past, we could only just be better going forward, and the best quarter was the fourth tonight.”
For the second straight game, the Nets blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but Mikal Bridges scored 36 points and made a career-high seven 3-pointers.
Before blowing a 14-point lead in a Sunday loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn led by as many as eighteen points. Late in the third quarter, Brooklyn led the Knicks by ten points.
“We just got to stay together, that’s the biggest thing,” Bridges said. “When a team makes a run, makes a push, we just got to handle adversity a little better.”
The Nets had dropped their previous three games against the Knicks before Cameron Johnson scored 19 points and Cam Thomas added 14 points off the bench.
After a competitive game through the first two quarters, Brooklyn went on a 6-0 run late in the third quarter to build a 10-point advantage. A Nic Claxton dunk with 1:16 remaining in the quarter sealed the victory.
With 3:57 remaining, Prince Achiuwa made it a one-point game after Julius Randle missed in the hoop, leading the Knicks to a 98-97 edge.
With 3:47 left, Dorian Finney-Smith responded with a 3-pointer to give the Nets a lead again.
With 2:19 remaining in the game, Randle made his first three-pointer and the Knicks took a certain lead, 101-100, after New York had missed their previous three.
Following a frantic sequence in which both teams blocked three baskets, Randle's two-handed slam to make it 103-101 ignited the Knicks' fan base.
Josh Hart stopped Dennis Smith Jr.'s effort at a layup, and Anunoby stopped Johnson's floater as the New York defence tightened up after Claxton had stopped Brunson's shot two feet from the basket.
Grabbing the loose ball, Hart transferred it to Randle, who then fed Bronson for the basket close to mid-court.
“That’s our team,” Randle said. “Me and Jalen get a lot of shine just scoring points and stuff like that, but those are the plays that win us games. Those are the plays that may go unnoticed. But they’re winning plays and they help us win games.”
The Knicks led 105-101 as Jason Hart scored at the other end after Finney-Smith missed a 3-pointer, prompting the Nets to take a timeout.
Bridges made a 13-foot pull-up jumper to narrow the lead, but three straight free throws from New York sealed the victory.
Ten of Brunson's eighteen points from the first half came in the second quarter, which helped the Knicks take a 50-49 lead into halftime.
Next up:
On Thursday, the Knicks will host the Denver Nuggets.
Nets: On Thursday, they will host the Minnesota Timberwolves.