Jalen Brunson to rescue as Knicks hold off 76ers, sending them to ninth straight loss
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks reacts after a go-ahead three-point basket late during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
This was never going to be a rerun of the postseason meeting between the Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers less than a year ago when the two teams battled in a physical, heart-stopping and emotional series.
Now, the Knicks are heading toward the postseason but battling their own demons. The 76ers are running out the string on a lost season and hoping that they can at least hang onto their top six protected first round pick.
But somehow, for the 19,812 in attendance and for the players on the floor, the game was once again an exchange of body blows down the stretch.
But nothing seems to come easy, even when the opponent is looking at the draft and the Knicks are in desperate need of a win. So an early 19-point lead disappeared in the fourth quarter before the Knicks needed all of Jalen Brunson’s heroics to escape with a 110-105 win over the 76ers at the Garden.
After the Knicks blew the entire lead and trailed by four in the fourth, it was Brunson who salvaged the night, scoring nine consecutive points for the Knicks, 11 points in the final 3:39 and 14 of his 34 points after entering the game for the final 7:45.
“We needed that,” Brunson said. “Just happy that we came away with the win. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
That was clear as the Knicks, even playing without Karl-Anthony Towns, were staring down what would have been one of the worst losses of the season if they squandered this lead against a team that has now lost nine straight and was coming off a 32-point loss at home to Chicago.
The Knicks seemed determined to show improvement on the night with Mikal Bridges shooting 8-for-10 from the floor in the first quarter, attacking early and putting up 19 points, his high for a quarter as a Knick. Brunson orchestrated much of it. His seven assists in the quarter were his most ever in a first quarter. Bridges finished with 28 points.
With rookie Ariel Hukporti making his first NBA start, the Knicks seemed on their way to an easy win.
Their lead remained in double figures most of the game, but Philadelphia pulled within nine to start the fourth quarter. With the lead down to 84-78 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Bridges delivered again, isolating on the baseline against Paul George as the 24-second clock ran down and hitting a tough jumper.
As the lead was dwindling, the Knicks — already without Towns and Mitchell Robinson — lost Hukporti for the remainder of the game after he tried to play the first 1:15 of the fourth after suffering a sprained left knee in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth an Andre Drummond dunk off a lob from George brought Philadelphia as close as it had been since the opening minutes, trailing just 94-90. With 4:37 to play George drained a corner three and the Knicks lead was down to just one at 96-95.
Out of a timeout Bridges missed a three and Tyrese Maxey banked a drive for Philadelphia’s first lead since the first quarter, 97-96.
“Turnovers, them making threes, and just cutting the lead down,” Brunson said of the second half struggles. “We just weren’t as focused. We were pretty careless with the ball. It’s all good. We’ve just got to respond. We can’t sulk about it. I think we responded in a way that helped us get a win. Not ideal, obviously it’s not what we want. But it’s a win and we move forward.”
Brunson pushed New York back in front with a pair of free throws with 3:39 left. The 76ers went up four but Brunson tied it with a pair of free throws and a tough layup and after Maxey missed, Brunson buried a three with 1:28 left to give New York 105-102 lead.
“Just focusing on the next play,” Brunson said. “Whatever I see is where we’re going to try to attack. I’m not going in and saying I’m going to score. I’m just going in and saying I’m going to be aggressive and try to make the right play. Go from there.”
His teammates begged to differ, insisting that it was no surprise to see Brunson take over when they needed him most.
“Just play hard, play the right way,” Precious Achiuwa said. “I think we stayed together, continued to trust each other on both sides of the floor. And just obviously letting Jalen do what he does. In crunch time, get him the ball in his areas.”
“What he does all the time,” Bridges said of Brunson’s late heroics. “Just capable of scoring like that, especially in the fourth, helping us win the game.”
Notes & quotes: Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has said that Robinson’s status would depend on how he feels the day after practice and he said that he recovered well from Tuesday’s session. “He’s doing well overall,” Thibodeau said.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
