NEW YORK — The first 36 minutes for the Knicks on Saturday night looked like their last 48 minutes Thursday — lifeless, listless and lost.
But something clicked for the Knicks in the fourth quarter, harkening back to the toughness and resilience they showed last season, and they overcame an 18-point deficit to stun the Houston Rockets 108-106 at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks outscored the Rockets 33-15 in the final period, with Karl-Anthony Towns scoring seven of his team-high 27 points and Jalen Brunson shaking off a bad start to hit all four of his field goals, including the go-ahead bucket, to score 20 with seven assists.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said it was the much-maligned Towns who challenged his team in the huddle after the third quarter. At that point, boos could be heard throughout the arena when the Rockets took control.
«I drew up a play and talking about offense, and then KAT said, ‘At the end of the day, it starts defensively. We gotta get a stop,'» Brown said. «He led the charge on that end of the floor.»
Towns began the quarter by forcing Alperen Sengun into a bad shot, and not long after the Knicks’ offense began to find its level.
«I said we could win this game, I’ve seen us do it,» Towns said. «I wanted to do my part and get that stop from there on, just wanted to set the tone for our team and intensity level we needed to play for 12 minutes and come out with a win.»
Before the game, Brown made clear the pecking order: Brunson first, then Towns, then everybody else. It was the first time he’d been so definitive, especially since Towns had previously indicated he didn’t feel comfortable in the offense all season.
Towns’ shooting percentages and overall attempts are down from his career numbers and far down from last season’s production under Tom Thibodeau.
«We’ve simplified our offense a lot to try to fit him and everybody else at the same time,» Brown said.
But with the Rockets trapping Brunson hard, Towns had to step in. Brunson didn’t have a field goal and Towns scored 11 to keep it to a one-possession game before the Rockets asserted control in the third.
Trade deadline addition Jose Alvarado was disruptive in the fourth, as was OG Anunoby throughout. Alvarado had his second five-steal game with the Knicks, with three of them coming in the final quarter.
«We kept searching for combinations until we found one that worked. We threw in Jose and he gave us a spark,» Brown said. «I liked our guys’ stick-to-it-iveness to the whole thing, because there were plenty of times where we could’ve folded and just given up.»
In some ways the Rockets were an easy foil. They’re 18th in clutch situations — defined by the NBA as games that are within five points with five minutes or less — so the Knicks knew they had a chance to execute and steal a win down the stretch.
They held Kevin Durant, the league’s 11th-highest scorer, to 2-for-7 shooting in the fourth as the Rockets’ offense was ground to isolations and turnovers. But it was the Knicks who applied the proper pressure to get the game to a manageable six-point deficit in a quick five-minute burst, thanks to their 3-point shooting.
«It’s just the same story,» Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. «And we’ve lost too many games like this with big leads. It’s not just time to freestyle. And like I said, turnovers hurt, but bad offense is just as bad.»
Durant had a final shot at the buzzer following a 50-foot pass, but his 3-point attempt was short and to the right.
«We gave them momentum, I think we relaxed just a bit. The game felt like it was in our control,» Durant said. «I know it’s hard to say, but it’s a vital time for us to keep growing, keep getting better.»
The Rockets left the door open, and the Knicks walked through it with urgency. It erased the bad taste brought on by Thursday’s blowout loss to the East-leading Detroit Pistons, and served as a necessary palate cleanser before heading on the road for a three-game trip starting Sunday in Chicago.
«I remember the belt-to-ass we received,» Towns said. «You never want that game to translate to more.»
Towns called it a «team win.»
«You know, 48 hours ago, we didn’t play our best and we came out here and we showed resiliency, even when we weren’t playing our best,» Towns said. «It’s a testament to this team, not only what we show tonight, but the growth of our team and that resiliency that I think we saw a lot of last year, kind of showing his head again today.»
