Jalen Brunson scored a season-low 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting, but the Knicks pulled away from the Nets as Sunday’s 114-104 final at MSG gave New York a pair of wins over Brooklyn in three days.
Among others, Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up with a game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds as the Knicks (7-6) climbed back above the .500 mark for the first time in two-plus weeks.
“It is frustrating, on one hand,” said Cam Johnson, who led the Nets (5-9) with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. “On the other, I think the big moment in the game was when Karl started to score in that third quarter and kind of demand a lot of attention and that was stressing us out defensively.
“So that’s the problem they present. With them, it’s not just one guy you’ve got to worry about.”
In 34 minutes, Brunson dished 10 assists and grabbed five rebounds.
“That’s what I love about Jalen — he’s going to keep going,” said Tom Thibodeau. “… As long as we win, Jalen feels good. It says a lot about him, and we have a number of guys that are like that.”
While Brunson struggled to score, he made his presence felt as the Knicks totaled 33 assists while each other member of the starting five totaled 20 points or more.
“He did a great job commanding the game today,” Towns said. “When the double teams came to him, he made the right pass every single time.”
As the Knicks come together, a quick turnaround awaits with Monday’s 7:30 p.m. tip against the Washington Wizards and a five-game road trip that starts Wednesday against the Suns in Phoenix.
“Offensively, I think we’re finding it pretty well,” said Mikal Bridges, who scored 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting. “But it’s a journey. We’ve got to still get better. We’ve got a long way to go.”
