Jalen Brunson scored 9 of his season-high 55 points in overtime and the visiting New York Knicks extended their season-best winning streak to seven games, beating the Washington Wizards 136-132 on Saturday (Sunday, December 29, Manila time).
Brunson hit two foul shots in overtime to put the Knicks ahead 134-131 with 4.2 seconds left. Malcolm Brogdon made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end before Josh Hart’s two foul shots sealed the victory for New York.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who rallied from an eight-point deficit that they faced at the start of the fourth quarter. Mikal Bridges scored 21 points, and Hart finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Wizards led 119-114 with 1:07 left in regulation before Brunson converted a three-point play. After Washington missed a pair of field-goal attempts, Brunson’s floater tied the game at 119 with 11.8 seconds remaining.
The contest went to overtime after Bilal Coulibaly’s jumper fell short on Washington’s final possession of the fourth quarter and Towns missed a buzzer-beater at the basket.
Justin Champagnie led Washington with a career-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Brogdon scored 22 points, Coulibaly had 18, Carlton Carrington added 17 and Kyshawn George posted 13.
New York has won 17 of its past 21 games overall, including 11 of 13 this month.
The Knicks also improved to 12-6 away from home and have seven straight road wins.
Washington had eight players score in the opening quarter and held a 33-32 advantage at the end of the period.
The teams entered the break knotted at 60 following a back-and-forth second quarter that featured six ties and 14 lead changes.
Five players scored at least seven points in the first half for the Wizards, while Towns led the Knicks with 16 points.
Washington led 98-90 at the end of the third quarter after scoring 38 points on 71.4 percent shooting. Brunson scored 19 of the Knicks’ 30 points in the frame.
The Knicks scored eight of the first 10 points of the fourth quarter and moved ahead 103-102 on Towns’ trey with 7:54 remaining. – Rappler.com
