Jalen Brunson scores 38 as Knicks survive 76ers’ late charge for 125-119 overtime win

The Knicks let several leads slip through their fingers but never trailed in the game en route to a 125-119 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to a 38-point outburst from Jalen Brunson.

New York added a triple-double from Josh Hart and 23 points from Mikal Bridges overcoming a late charge from Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, who combined for 59 points, after a poor shooting first half from Philadelphia.

The Knicks saw their 13-point halftime lead erased in the third, thanks to shooting 10-for-23 in the quarter and the Sixers going on a 14-4 run in the final 3:20 of the period while waking up for a first-half slumber. New York rebounded to put together a scrappy 7-2 run with hustle plays and offensive rebounds in the fourth, but the lead was again erased with three minutes to play.

After Hart forced a jump ball on defense, got a steal and breakaway dunk before finding OG Anunoby – who had struggled from three all night – for a corner three and a five-point with 1:26 to play. But once again, the Knicks saw the lead slip (on a few Brunson turnovers) as Maxey went on a 7-2 run to level the score with 3.2 seconds to play. Anunoby’s shot at the buzzer drew iron to send the game to OT.

In the extra period, it was all Brunson: First finding Anunoby for a driving dunk, then knocking down a pull-up three, before knocking down three free throws to complete the 8-0 run for a lead they wouldn’t lose.

Karl-Anthony Towns missed the game due to a right thumb sprain – it was also revealed the big man is dealing with a bone chip in the same thumb. But in his absence, New York improved to 27-15 on the year as Philly fell to 15-24 and sit 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Here are the takeaways…

– Brunson, as expected, looked to pick up the slack without Towns, and he started 4-for-6 for nine points with two assists in the opening quarter. But, after sitting for the first six minutes of the second, the guard had a minor impact adding just two points and two rebounds, that changed in the third and he started to assert himself in the third with a pair of early buckets. After Philly cut it to six, Brunson again answered with a transition three to give him 18. He went 5-for-9 in the third.

Brunson – who played every minute after halftime – was 5-for-7 in the fourth and overtime to finish with 38 (14-for-22) with five rebounds, four assists and two steals for a plus-7 in 45 minutes

– It was another night for Hart to show off his provider skills, in the first he collected four assists, the final two on quick finds to Miles McBride for a layup and a three on back-to-back possessions, to go along with three rebounds. The start of the third was quintessential Hart: Assists on four of the Knicks’ first six buckets, six rebounds and a block. But he missed all three shots he attempted as the lead slipped away.

Hart was constantly everywhere the Knicks needed him to be as he finished with 10 points (4-for-9) with 17 rebounds (five offensive), 12 assists and four steals in 49 minutes for a plus-10.

– Bridges knocked down a pair of early threes as he looked close to snapping out of his recent shooting funk. In the second it was more of the same as he connected on his first two from beyond the arc to give him 16. After missing his next five shots (three from three) Bridges got an open look from the corner to put in another three early in the third. He drifted out of the game a bit, going just 3-for-7 after halftime.

But after going 2-for-14 from the floor (1-for-11 from deep) against Oklahoma City and Milwaukee, he bounced back to go 9-for-13 (6-for-8 from deep) on Monday and continued to look good shooting the ball scoring 23 points on 9-for-19 from the floor (5-for-10 from three) and was a plus-3 in 43 minutes in Philly.

– In the second, McBride capped off a lengthy possession – that saw the Knicks swing the ball around using a half-dozen passes and the entire shot clock – with a corner three to give him 10 in the first half. Cam Payne continued to show off his sweet lefty stroke, knocking down 2 of 4 three-point attempts in the quarter, as the Knicks entered Wednesday averaging 20 points from the bench, they hit that number in the first half (on 6-for-10 shooting). McBride finished with 13 (4-for-5 shooting) with three rebounds, three assists and a steal for a plus-5 in 22 minutes.

– Jericho Sims got the start in favor of Towns, but the big man lasted less than half the quarter before picking up his second foul and sitting for Precious Achiuwa. Sims got an extended run in the third, and corraled three offensive rebounds and five points. He totaled seven boards (six offensive) with eight points but was a minus-3 in 23 minutes.

Achiuwa was on the floor for the closing stages and did a ton of dirty work to finish with 10 points (4-for-6 from the floor) with six rebounds and three blocks.

Anunoby hit a few timely shots but struggled from the floor (6-for-16 and 3-for-10 from deep) as he had 17 points with four rebounds and four assists and was a minus-2 in 45 minutes.

The Knicks finished 16-for-37 (43.2 percent) from deep (46-for-86, 53.5 percent overall) and had 45 rebounds (15 offensive), but were stung for 16 turnovers and went 17-for-24 from the line (12-for-19 in regulation).

– The Sixers, playing without Joel Embiid for a sixth-straight game and on the second night of a back-to-back, got into trouble with fouls less than three minutes into the game. After just 14 seconds, Maxey fouled Brunson on the dribble and 158 seconds after that, Philly’s star guard was whistled for holding Bridges off the ball. Nick Nurse challenged to save the second foul but was unsuccessful.

The Knicks had eight assists on 12 made baskets (from 22 attempts) in the first quarter, and at the half, they were converting from the field at a 55 percent clip (10-for-19 from three) and held a 60-47 lead at the interval.

The Sixers meanwhile were just 2-for-15 from as their big stars were struggling: George started 3-for-8 (1-for-5 from three) and Maxey 3-for-12 (0-for-3 from deep). Philly awoke in the third, going 15-for-22 from the floor (6-for-10 from three), erasing the halftime deficit when Jeff Dowtin banked in a three at the buzzer. In the second half and overtime, the 76ers shot 58.3 percent (28-for-48) with 11 threes in a losing effort.