Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson carry Knicks to a 99-95 win over the Nets

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored eight points down the stretch and finished with 17 as the New York Knicks beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-95 on Tuesday night.

OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

D’Angelo Russell finished with 23 points and 10 assists and Cam Johnson scored 16 for the Nets, who have lost four straight games and nine of their last 10.

New York had a double-digit lead in the third quarter before the Nets rallied and moved out to a one-point lead at 88-87 on a 3-pointer by Keon Johnson with 5:18 left.

The Knicks battled back and took the lead 91-90 with 2:18 left on a jumper by Brunson, who ended up making three straight shots, including a step-back jumper with 1:25 to play to put the Knicks ahead 95-92.

Russell answered with a 3-pointer to cut the Brooklyn deficit to 97-95 with 52 seconds left. Johnson then missed a 3-poin try before Brunson sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Takeaways

Knicks: Mikal Bridges had 10 points in his first game back in Brooklyn following the July 2024 trade.

Nets: Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said leading scorer Cam Thomas has been doing “on-court activities, no contact,” as he continues to rehabilitate from a left hamstring injury. Thomas has not played since Jan. 2.

Key moment

Johnson had a chance to put the Nets ahead with 15.1 seconds left, but missed a 26-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key. Brunson was then fouled and hit a pair of free throws.

Key stat

The Knicks improved to 8-0 when holding teams under 100 points this season.

Up next

The Nets host Phoenix on Wednesday night. The Knicks host Sacramento on Saturday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba