Less than a week later, the Knicks kept an undermanned Charlotte team hanging around for the entire game until Tom Thibodeau's team escaped with a one-point victory.
The Hornets once again had a tough second quarter on Thursday night despite being without several of their top players, but the Knicks pulled away with a 38-16 outburst in the third, 125-101 at the Garden. He won four consecutive games.
“I think we were in a tight spot in the first quarter and obviously got down to two points right before the end.” [halftime]. And the start of the second half is how we should have started the game,” Jalen Brunson said. “We showed a lot of energy defensively, got some stops, made some easy baskets, that's all.”
Notably, the All-Star point guard left the bench and headed to the locker room with 2:39 left in the third quarter.
Brunson landed hard after a loose ball collided with center Nick Richards under the basket, but he returned to the bench with a wrap around his abdomen midway through the fourth quarter, but did not return to the game.
Thibodeau said afterward that Brunson “could” return, but said he was dealing with back issues.
“It feels great,” said Brunson, who scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half. “I’ll see how I feel. [Friday]. That's it. ”
OG Anunoby scored 15 of his 25 points during a third-quarter rally and made two key blocked shots on the perimeter in the same possession.
Mikal Bridges had 19 points and seven assists in a season-high 47 minutes, and NBA rebounding leader Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 27 points with 16 boards for the Knicks. The Knicks will play the Pistons again at home on Saturday night.
“OG was unbelievable. Him and Michal, their energy kept us going,” Thibodeau said. “Josh [Hart] In the same way. KAT started moving and Jalen was Jalen.
“I thought they did a really good job. They set the tone in the second half, but they gave us something to look at because we have to be a team that can play for 48 minutes. Ta.”
Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 26 points, but the Hornets were still without leading scorers LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
“I think he just came out and performed better.” [in the second half]'' Towns said. “We made it harder for them to make shots, we had a lot of turnovers and we converted that into offense.”
The Knicks trailed by 13 points in the first quarter, but Brunson hit his fourth triple after Towns' 3-pointer, giving him 19 points in the quarter and a 2-0 score, making them 10-0 (12-0 overall). The period ended with 0 losses). By the 12th minute, we had a lead.
A layup by Bridges and a long-distance bucket by Hart pushed the Knicks to even at 35-all early in the second, but the Hornets scored the next seven points, including a 3-pointer by Daquan Jeffries, who left the Knicks. Ta.
Two dunks by Anunoby and a late corner 3 by Hart, who scored his 14th of the session, gave the Knicks a 65-62 lead going into intermission.
Anunoby added 10 more points and Towns rocked the rim for a powerful one-handed dunk during a 21-6 spurt as the Knicks opened up an 18-point bulge midway through the third.
Anunoby continued in the second half by slamming two Charlotte jumpers into the stands, drawing calls of “OG” from the home crowd.
“I love it. I love it every time,” Anunoby said. “I loved it on the streets of Denver. I love it here. I love it everywhere. It's amazing. I'm definitely going to go for steals, blocks, deflections. Anything to hold court for us.”
“I think [defense] brings energy. The fans bring it and the team feeds off of it. ”
