Jalen Brunson drops 55 points in thrilling 136-132 overtime win at Wizards

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The Knicks fought tooth and nail and needed every point they could get in Saturday night’s 136-132 overtime win against the Washington Wizards.

Here are the takeaways…

-Despite being heavy favorites against the last-place Wizards, Saturday’s contest was always going to be a challenge for New York who was playing in its second game in as many nights after beating the Orlando Magic on Friday night. It showed early on in the game as Washington got off to a 14-5 lead.

The Knicks, however, were able to cut the deficit to 31-30 by the end of the quarter, but it was clear the defense was not as sharp, letting the Wizards, without Kyle Kuzma, shoot 14-for-25 from the field in the first 12 minutes (3-for-8 from deep).

-After a near-dead-even second quarter where neither team had a lead of more than three points, the game was tied at the half, 60-60.

-New York got its second glimpse of the second-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Alexandre Sarr, who scored just eight points in his first game against New York on Nov. 8 — a 134-106 win for the Knicks. The 7-footer finished with 12 points, five assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes on Saturday.

The biggest thorn in New York’s side, though, was Justin Champagnie who torched the Knicks for a career-high 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting (5-for-6 from three) to go along with 10 rebounds (four offensive) for a double-double. In all, the Wizards had seven players finish with double-digit points, including Malcolm Brogdon (22), Bilal Coulibaly (18), Carlton Carrington (17), Kyshawn George (13) and Corey Kispert (11).

-To counter Washington’s well-balanced offense, New York turned to its stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The duo scored 85 of the team’s 136 points, going a combined 31-for-50 from the floor. Brunson had a season-high 55 points, six points shy of tying his career high, with nine assists.

-The Knicks hoped to get more production out of their bench on the second night of a back-to-back, but the only meaningful contribution came from Precious Achiuwa who logged 19 minutes and finished with three points, seven rebounds and two assists. Instead, New York leaned…

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Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-12-29 02:57:00

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