Knicks Halt Houston Behind Epic Jalen Brunson Finale

Jalen Brunson's sterling closeout effort gave the New York Knicks a big interconference victory.

Feb 3, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) runs up court after basket during the first half against the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Thanks to Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks were OK without OG.

A Brunson master class paved the way for a big interconference victory for the Knicks, who diffused the Houston Rockets by a 124-118 final on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Brunson posted a 42-point, 10-assist double-double, his first with at least 40 and 10 in the regular season. It was also the 18th game where he earned at least 40 points in a Knicks uniform, passing Carmelo Anthony for third most in franchise history.

Behind Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points each while Josh Hart added 19 more. Precious Achiuwa started in place of the injured OG Anunoby and matched nine rebounds with seven points.

Brunson put up 17 points in the final period alone and hit 5-of-6 from the field to earn endless chants of "MVP from an appreciative MSG crowd. It was part of a swift fourth quarter recovery for the Knicks (33-17), who were missing Anunoby due to a foot sprain suffered in Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

After getting drastically outscored by Lakers in Saturday's last dozen, the Knicks outscored Houston 46-29 in the fourth, erasing an 11-point deficit in the process.

Like the Knicks, the Rockets (32-17) were missing some star firepower, as Alperen Sengun and Fred VanFleet each sat out due to injuries. De facto divine intervention kept the Rockets in the game as Amen Thompson put up a triple-double with 22 points and 11 assists and rebounds each. Houston lost its third game in a row and split the annual regular season couple with its victim in the 1994 NBA Finals.

The Knicks immediately return to action on Tuesday night as they briefly leave home to face the Toronto Raptors in Ontario (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).

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