Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half and the Knicks erased an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 108-106 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Meanwhile, the NBA’s Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons romped to a fifth straight win, and the San Antonio Spurs kept the pressure on West leaders Oklahoma City Thunder with an eighth straight triumph.
The Knicks’ victory was a rebound from a humbling loss to Detroit, delivering a gutsy win that put them back into a tie for third place in the East. “Just found a way,” Brunson said. “Kept chipping away. Got some stops, made some shots and there it is.” Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 points and OG Anunoby added 20 for New York, who led by as many as 13 points in the first half but trailed 75-93 with 10:53 left to play. Brunson’s layup—after teammate Jose Alvarado’s second steal in 20 seconds—knotted it at 103-103 with 1:26 remaining, and Brunson put the Knicks up for good, 105-103, with 29 seconds left.
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Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points for the Rockets, but 20 Houston turnovers leading to 30 Knicks points proved too much to overcome. The Pistons shook off a sluggish start to roll to a 126-110 victory over the slumping Bulls in Chicago. Detroit outscored the Bulls 44-26 in the third quarter to seize control, leading by as many as 28 as they pushed their record to 42-13. Jalen Duren led the way, returning from a two-game suspension for his role in a February 9 brawl at Charlotte to score 26 points and grab 13 rebounds. Star guard Cade Cunningham added 18 points and 13 assists, while Tobias Harris chipped in another 18 points for the Pistons, who are six games clear of the Boston Celtics atop the East, with the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers both a further game back. Aussie guard Josh Giddey scored 27 points to lead the Bulls, but Chicago has dropped eight in a row.
San Antonio also took advantage of a struggling opponent, beating the reeling Sacramento Kings 139-122. Sacramento suffered a franchise record 16th straight defeat. Spurs’ French superstar Victor Wembanyama scored 28 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. He added a steal and four blocked shots—three of them within the first two minutes. Starters De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, along with reserve Keldon Johnson, scored 18 points apiece for the Spurs, who fended off a third-quarter Sacramento charge that saw the Kings cut the deficit to one before San Antonio pulled away again.
In Phoenix, Jalen Green drilled a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to lift the Suns to a 113-110 double-overtime victory over the Orlando Magic. Javon Carter had tied it for the Magic with 1.1 seconds left in the second extra period before Green swished the game-winner. It was just Green’s sixth basket on 26 attempts on a tough shooting night. He finished with 16 points for the Suns, who were led by Grayson Allen’s 27 points off the bench in his return from a four-game injury absence. Orlando’s Desmond Bane led all scorers with 34 points but fouled out early in the first overtime. Phoenix’s celebrations were tempered by a hand injury to Dillon Brooks, who departed in the first quarter and didn’t return. They were already without Devin Booker, who has a right hip strain.
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