Brunson drops 42 points to rally Knicks past Rockets

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson had 42 points and 10 assists, breaking a tie with Carmelo Anthony for third on the franchise list with his 18th 40-point game with the Knicks, and New York beat the Houston Rockets 124-118 on Monday night.

Brunson scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to bring the Knicks back in a game they trailed by 11 after three. He ended up with his 12th game with at least 30 points and 10 assists since coming to New York, passing Hall of Famer Richie Guerin for most in franchise history.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each added 22 points for the Knicks. Josh Hart had 19.

Amen Thompson had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in his third career triple-double for the Rockets, who have lost three in a row for the first time all season. Cam Whitmore added 18 points off the bench.

Takeaways

Rockets: With All-Star Alperen Sengun among the missing players for the Rockets, it's been a rough start to February after an 11-4 January that earned Ime Udoka Western Conference coach of the month honors. Houston started nobody taller than 6-foot-8 Monday.

Knicks: Brunson gave the Knicks something extra on a night they played without starting forward OG Anunoby for the first time this season because of a sprained right foot.

Key moment

Brunson's layup gave the Knicks the lead with 1:38 remaining and he followed with a 3-pointer that made it 118-114 with a minute to play.

Key stat

Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing (30) and Bernard King (23) are the only players with more 30-point games as a Knick than Brunson, who is in his third season with the team.

Up next

The Rockets head across town to visit Brooklyn on Tuesday. The Knicks visit Toronto on Tuesday.

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