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NBA: Knicks rally to down Rockets
Written by Sports Desk. Posted in Basketball. | 03 February 2025 | 59 Views
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The New York Knicks rallied past the Houston Rockets, while the Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in the NBA.

Jalen Brunson scored 17 of his 42 points during a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the New York Knicks to a 124-118 win over the sputtering Houston Rockets on Monday.

The Knicks trailed this clash of third-place teams in their respective conferences by 11 points after three quarters, but outscored Houston 46-29 in the fourth to pick up their sixth victory in seven games.

Brunson, who added 10 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns sparked the comeback, with Towns recording 11 of his 22 points in the final quarter and finishing with nine total rebounds before fouling out late.

Mikal Bridges also had 22 points for New York, which bounced back from Saturday's 16-point home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, while Josh Hart chipped in 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting along with eight rebounds.

Amen Thompson posted a triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Houston, but the Rockets' defence struggled in the fourth quarter as they were dealt a season-high third straight loss. All three defeats have come with All-Star center Alperen Sengun sidelined by a calf injury.

Houston led 57-52 at half-time behind Thompson's 14 points and stretched their advantage to 89-78 after three quarters on Thompson's 3-point play to close out the period.

The Knicks then came roaring back in the fourth.

After cutting their deficit to six midway through the period, New York went on a 9-2 run capped by Towns' 3-point play with 3:38 left to take a 109-108 edge. The teams then traded the lead down the stretch before Brunson nailed a key 3-pointer with one minute to go to put the Knicks up 118-114.

The Rockets made just one basket the rest of the way, with the Knicks sealing the outcome by going 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final stages.

Thunder extend Bucks' slump with blowout win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 34 points in just three quarters as the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a 125-96 rout over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks.

Facing a Milwaukee team that rested stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, along with key players Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton in its second game in as many nights, the Thunder built a lead as large as 44 points and were never threatened despite scoring just nine fourth-quarter points with most of their starters sitting out the period.

Reserve Ousmane Dieng had a season-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting along with eight rebounds to help Oklahoma City (39-9) close within a half-game of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA's best record.

Ryan Rollins and AJ Johnson paced the depleted Bucks with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Milwaukee was held under 100 points for the first time since Nov. 12 and has now lost four straight games.

The Thunder never looked back after opening the game on a 17-6 run, as Gilgeous-Alexander went 9 of 11 from the field during a 21-point first-quarter that staked Oklahoma City to a 39-22 lead after 12 minutes of play.

Oklahoma City then shot 65.2 per cent in the second quarter to take a commanding 78-44 advantage into half-time, and the over-matched Bucks never got their deficit under 30 points until the game's final two minutes.

Kings win first game after making big trade

The Sacramento Kings just traded away their leading scorer, but showed on Monday they have still got some capable ones left.

DeMar DeRozan amassed 33 points and seven assists to lead all five starters in double figures as the Kings came through with a 116-114 road victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game without star guard De'Aaron Fox.

Sacramento sent Fox to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday in a three-team trade that netted the Kings two-time All-Star Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls and three first-round draft picks. Though LaVine is not expected to debut with the team until Wednesday, the Kings stopped a run of four losses in five games by pulling away late behind a balanced effort.

Malik Monk had 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds to help Sacramento prevail, and the Kings also received 19 points from Keegan Murray and 14 points and 11 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis.

The Timberwolves were dealt a second straight loss following a season-high five-game winning streak despite Naz Reid's season-high 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Jaden McDaniels finished with 22 points for Minnesota and Anthony Edwards had 21, though the All-Star was held to a 7-of-21 effort from the field.

Minnesota battled back from a 12-point deficit late in the second quarter to take a 91-90 edge on Reid's 3-pointer early in the fourth. Keon Ellis answered with a 3-pointer of his own on the following possession, however, to ignite an 11-4 run that gave the Kings a 101-95 lead with under five minutes to go.

Sacramento stayed ahead the rest of the way, though the Timberwolves closed within 112-111 on Mike Conley's 3-pointer with 9.3 seconds left. Monk made two free throws on the Kings' next trip down the court, however, and Sabonis sealed the outcome with two more after Minnesota turned the ball over with time winding down.

Murray had 17 first-half points and the Kings put together a 9-0 run to build a 65-53 lead late in the second quarter, though the Timberwolves trimmed it down to 67-59 at the break.

Minnesota further closed the gap with a 7-0 run in the third quarter, capped by McDaniels' 3-pointer and a layup from Edwards, to tie the contest at 77-77, and the game remained tight the rest of the way.

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