WASHINGTON, DC — The Knicks played on food for four quarters.
They allowed the Wizards, the worst team in the East, to enter the danger zone, and their defense fell into disarray, sending the game into overtime for the first time this season.
So what was supposed to be an easy night turned into a dogfight for the Knicks, who needed Jalen Brunson's 55 points to win 136-132 in overtime on Saturday.
Brunson was a double nickel and a scoring machine, scoring 50 or more points for the third game since last season.
And the Knicks (22-10) needed it all.
Saturday was their seventh straight win and perhaps their biggest disappointment of the season.
If it were against anyone other than the Wizards (5-24), the Knicks likely would have succumbed on the second night of a back-to-back, outrebounded, outhustled and looking gassed.
In other words, they were saved by Branson.
The point guard also dished out nine assists and made 18-of-31 shooting, almost single-handedly leading the comeback late in regulation.
With 57 seconds left and the Knicks leading by five points, Brunson converted an and-one off a dribble that changed direction in the lane.
New York performed a similar move on their next possession, hitting a floater with 11.9 seconds left to tie the game.
The Wizards had a chance to win, but Bilal Koulibaly ended up getting isolated against OG Anunoby. As expected, it was a brick shot.
The Knicks secured the rebound with 0.8 seconds left, called a timeout, and nearly completed a perfect inbounds pass under the basket to Karl-Anthony Towns, but Towns had no complete control of the ball. He took an off-balance shot, but it missed the target. Do not touch the rim.
over time.
It was a close game in the extra period, but the Knicks led from start to finish and made free throws late.
Although they avoided a bad loss, the box score illustrated the potential for future damage.
Towns played 44 minutes, scoring 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He was Brunson's best support offensively. Mikal Bridges played 47 minutes. Anunoby is now 42 years old.
Not only did they come into the game with the worst record in the East, but they were also lucky to play against the Wizards, who were missing their two leading scorers due to injuries.
DNP is troubling the NBA. In three of New York's last five games, they have faced the best of New Orleans (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram), Orlando (Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner), and Washington (Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole). 2 players were missing.
But that wasn't a problem for the Knicks, as their starting pitchers only missed three games total. Brunson was listed as questionable for Saturday with a sore calf, but as expected, he has made a good recovery.
And the Knicks were lucky to have him.
