Jalen Brunson scored 30 points as the host New York Knicks overcame a 17-point, first-half deficit and hung on a 111-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
The result assures the Knicks of at least home-court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Knicks (49-32) won their fourth straight game and overcame a 41-point showing by Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas. Third-place New York remained a game ahead of the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brunson missed his first six shots and finished 10-for-25 from the floor. However, he hit two clutch shots in the final 82 seconds that helped the Knicks fend off a late Brooklyn comeback.
With 1:22 left, the Knicks took a 105-100 lead when Brunson drove the lane, shifted to his left and hit a floater over Trendon Watford just before the shot clock expired.
After Thomas hit a fallaway jumper with 61 seconds left, Brunson missed a 14-footer, but New York’s Mitchell Robinson grabbed the offensive rebound and Brunson sank a step-back over Brooklyn rookie Jalen Wilson for a 107-102 lead with 28.8 seconds left.
Brunson then finished off New York’s sixth straight win over the Nets by hitting four free throws in the final 11.6 seconds.
Josh Hart added 16 while OG Anunoby and Robinson added 15 apiece for the Knicks. Robinson also set up Brunson’s late clutch shots by hitting 5 of 8 free throws late in the fourth when the Nets intentionally fouled the 38 percent free-throw shooter four times.
Thomas made 15 of 26 shots for Brooklyn (32-49), which shot 50 percent and played with only nine players due to injuries to Cameron Johnson, Dennis Smith Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder.
Watford logged 17 points and 13 rebounds and Lonnie Walker IV contributed 15 points for the Nets, who lost for the second time in three games.
Brooklyn scored the game’s first 11 points and held a 30-14 lead through the first quarter. The Knicks trailed 63-54 by halftime after Hart made a 28-foot 3-pointer in the final second.
The Knicks scored the first nine points of the third and Anunoby’s dunk following an errant pass by Watford forged a 63-all tie with 9:55 left.
New York finally got the lead when Brunson’s 3-pointer made it 71-69 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the third, and the hosts took an 84-78 lead into the fourth.
–Field Level Media
