Jalen Brunson scored 20 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter to fuel the host New York Knicks to a 113-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
Brunson made 14 of 27 shots from the floor and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. He added eight rebounds and eight assists to help the Knicks record a sweep of their three-game season series versus the Wizards. Brunson scored 32 points in New York’s 120-99 victory over Washington on Nov. 17 and added 33 in a 121-105 win against the Wizards on Jan. 6.
Julius Randle collected 21 points and eight rebounds and Donte DiVincenzo sank five 3-pointers to join OG Anunoby in scoring 19 points.
Isaiah Hartenstein had 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won eight of their last 10 games overall.
Jordan Poole scored 24 points for the Wizards, who have lost eight of their last nine games.
Washington’s Marvin Bagley III recorded 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in his first game with his new team after being acquired from the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. He started in place of Daniel Gafford, who was out with a concussion.
New York overcame a sluggish start while playing on the second half of a back-to-back set before locating its offense after intermission.
DiVincenzo sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, Brunson converted a three-point play and Precious Achiuwa added a dunk to stake the Knicks to an 84-75 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Landry Shamet drained two 3-pointers and a long-range basket to bring Washington within one. Brunson, however, kept the Wizards at bay by converting a three-point play to cap a personal 11-point run and sinking three free throws and a short basket to give New York a 100-95 lead with 2:27 to play.
Randle made a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 108-99 lead with 58.7 seconds remaining before Poole sank five free throws to pull the Wizards within four. Randle made a free throw and Anunoby and DiVincenzo each added two more to seal the win.
–Field Level Media