Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The New York Knicks, fueled by 42 points from Jalen Brunson, edged the Denver Nuggets 134-127 in a double overtime thriller on Wednesday to push their NBA winning streak to eight games. Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 12 rebounds and OG Anunoby scored 20 points for the Knicks, who withstood a triple-double of 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists from Denver’s three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic and 39 points from Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
The Knicks were up 119-117 after Towns’s layup with 1:01 left in the first overtime and thought they’d locked up the victory after Murray missed a three-pointer with three-tenths of a second remaining. But New York’s Mikal Bridges was whistled for a loose ball foul, and Christian Braun drained two free throws to tie it and force the second overtime. “It was really mentally tough,” Brunson told broadcaster ESPN once the Knicks had to regroup after starting their victory celebration. “We could have quit, but we found a way.”
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The back-and-forth battle at Madison Square Garden featured 20 lead changes. Murray put the Nuggets up first in the second extra session, but Brunson converted a three-point play to put the Knicks up for good, quickly adding a three-pointer as the Knicks took control. “I just focus on the next play, not really focusing on what’s needed,” said Brunson, who scored 10 points in the second overtime. “Just trying to get one play at a time done.”
Jokic, meant to be limited to less than 30 minutes in his fourth game back from a 16-game injury absence, played more than 44 minutes. The Serbian star got a scare midway through the first quarter, going down hard when he stepped back onto the heel of New York’s OG Anunoby. Jokic was slow to rise and walked gingerly to the sideline but stayed in the game. Towns, meanwhile, suffered a nasty cut on his right eyelid when a drive to the rim ended in a clash of heads with Denver’s Spencer Jones in the final minute of the first quarter. After treatment to stop the bleeding, Towns returned and made two free throws. He then departed to receive stitches and returned to the game while Jones remained in the Nuggets locker room with what the team called a head contusion.
The Knicks’ eight-game winning streak is their longest since they won nine in a row in 2024. At 33-18, they are tied for second in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics, who beat the Rockets 114-93 in Houston. Derrick White scored 28 points to lead the Celtics, and Payton Pritchard added 27 off the bench as Boston won despite the absence of star Jaylen Brown with hamstring and knee injuries.
– T’Wolves rally – Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Raptors 128-126 in Toronto. The Timberwolves were down by 18 early in the third quarter and trailed by 10 going into the fourth. Edwards gave them the lead for good with two minutes remaining, grabbing a steal and racing for a dunk that put Minnesota up 120-119.
The Milwaukee Bucks shook off the uncertainty surrounding superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, subject of fierce trade speculation with the trade deadline looming on Thursday, to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-137 in overtime. With two-time MVP Antetokounmpo again sidelined by a right calf strain, Ryan Rollins scored 27 points to lead seven Milwaukee players to score in double figures. Trey Murphy III drained a remarkable 12 three-pointers on the way to a career-high 44 points for the Pelicans. Murphy scored 14 points in the fourth quarter but went scoreless in overtime as the Bucks put the game away.
© 2024 AFP
