Brunson’s 55 power Knicks past Wizards

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Jalen Brunson delivered a 55-point masterpiece as the New York Knicks rallied from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Washington Wizards 136-132 in overtime on Saturday.

Brunson scored 42 of his points in the second half and overtime to help the Knicks fend off the lowly Wizards for a seventh straight National Basketball Association victory.

It was his third 50-point game as a Knick, and New York needed all of his output against a Washington team playing without Kyle Kuzma and their leading scorer Jordan Poole.

Justin Champagnie put up a career-high 31 points for the Wizards, who led by as many as 11 in the third quarter and took an eight point lead into the fourth.

They pushed their lead to 100-90 early in the final period and after a pair of lead changes the Wizards were up 119-114 with 1:07 remaining.

Brunson converted a three-point play then tied it at 119-119 with another driving basket and they went to overtime, where Brunson and Josh Hart each drilled a pair of clutch free-throws to close it out.

“We were a step behind until the fourth,” Brunson said. “(We) found a way to turn it up and came out with the win.”

Brunson connected on 18 of 31 shots from the floor and made three of the Knicks’ 10 three-pointers.

“I read the game, and then I find a way to impact it,” he said. “Tonight it was scoring.”

He was particularly pleased to hit 16 of his 17 free-throws — including making five of six from the line in overtime.

“It’s great, knowing I haven’t made a bunch of free throws this year, I’ve been terrible. But I made it when it was needed,” Brunson said.

Elsewhere in the league, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points and Jalen Williams added 20 for the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder in a comfortable 106-94 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte.