Jalen Brunson scored 44 points in a little under 29 minutes and survived an injury scare Sunday afternoon for the host New York Knicks, who rolled to a 140-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brunson scored 23 points in the first quarter and had 32 points when he appeared to hurt his right shoulder while having a shot blocked by Brook Lopez with 9:42 left in the third quarter and the Knicks leading 85-65.
Brunson motioned for a substitute and headed by himself to the Knicks’ locker room but returned to chants of “M-V-P!” from the Madison Square Garden crowd with 3:34 remaining in the period and New York ahead 99-80.
The point guard scored 12 points as the Knicks put the game away by outscoring the Bucks 29-18 before Brunson exited for good with 5:48 remaining. The 44 points are the most ever by a New York player who played fewer than 30 minutes.
Brunson also added six assists and five rebounds for the Knicks, who won for the second time in six games. The victory was the most lopsided for New York since a 145-101 rout of the Toronto Raptors last Mar. 27.
Karl-Anthony Towns (30 points, 18 rebounds) and Josh Hart (11 points, 11 rebounds) each posted double-doubles for the Knicks. Towns’ jumper with 10:45 left in the second quarter put New York ahead for good at 40-38.
Cameron Payne scored 18 points off the bench, including the first five points in a 17-10 run that ended the first half and extended New York’s lead to 75-62. OG Anunoby finished with 11 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (24 points, 13 rebounds) had another double-double for the Bucks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Antetokounmpo has a double-double in 27 of 31 games this season.
Damian Lillard scored 22 points while Khris Middleton added 16 points off the bench as the Bucks suffered their most lopsided defeat since a 129-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings last Mar. 12.
–Field Level Media
