Jalen Brunson propels Knicks to gutsy overtime win over Hornets
Over and over, Jalen Brunson has emphasized the need to win ugly. To find a way to prevail when the Knicks aren’t at their best.
He said it after the loss to Memphis, following the easy home victories over the Pistons and Magic and throughout training camp. Wednesday night, he got his wish — largely because of his own clutch play.
Brunson scored six of the Knicks’ 10 points in overtime, leading them to a 134-131 victory over the pesky and counterpunching Hornets in front of an announced sold-out crowd of 19,812 at the Garden.
“We gotta win some games like that,” Julius Randle said. “Every game’s not gonna be perfect, so for us to come out with a win like that is great.”
It was yet another brilliant performance from the team’s new point guard, who had his name chanted by the crowd and finished just three rebounds shy of a triple-double: 27 points, 13 assists (a career high) and seven rebounds, as the Knicks improved to 3-0 at home for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
This was far from a Picasso. The Knicks committed a season-high 16 turnovers. They didn’t defend nearly well enough and they struggled to sustain strong stretches. Ultimately, Tom Thibodeau’s team found a way, rallying from a five-point deficit in the final 2:05 of regulation and limiting Charlotte to 11 points in the last 7:22 of play.
It was nearly 12, but P.J. Washington’s jumper with 5.5 seconds to go in overtime was only a 2, his right toe on the 3-point line. RJ Barrett hit two clutch free throws on the other end and the Knicks smartly fouled the Hornets before they could get off a game-tying 3-point attempt.
“I liked the look of determination [we had] and I think a lot of that comes from Jalen’s look,” Thibodeau said. “His demeanor is terrific for our team. I love Julius, he’s been terrific from training camp on. The look of determination is important. If you look frustrated, you’ll play frustrated.”
Shaking off an uneven night, Randle finished with 17 points, including a basket with 19.2 seconds left in the extra session that pushed the Knicks’ lead to three. Barrett scored 22 and Mitchell Robinson was a force in the paint with six blocks. Gordon Hayward scored 21 for the Hornets (2-2) and former Knick Dennis Smith Jr. had 14 points and 11 assists.
The Hornets, without guards LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier due to ankle injuries, seemed to be in control, up five with under three minutes left on the strength of a Smith-fueled 9-2 run. But the Knicks (3-1) responded with consecutive stops. Barrett hit a pair of free throws, Brunson’s 3-pointer pulled them even and Randle retrieved an offensive rebound and scored the go-ahead basket with 49.7 seconds left, creating the loudest ovation of the young season at MSG. But Smith scored on the other end and Randle and Hayward each missed, sending the game into overtime.
There, the Knicks were the better team, mostly because they had the best player. Brunson set the tone by scoring the Knicks’ first four points and setting up Robinson for a dunk, and his teammates held on.
“You’ve got to win ugly, for sure. When we play good, we play perfect, we’re supposed to win those games,” Brunson said. “But when we’re not playing our best and we give up leads, how can we respond? Those are signs of good teams [to win those games].”
