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Unstoppable Brunson takes charge as Knicks disarm Rockets

NEW YORK – Jalen Brunson came through just when the New York Knicks needed their captain. 

Brunson fired 17 points in the fourth quarter as he carried the Knicks on his back to a gutsy win and cemented himself as one of the franchise greats. 

Brunson’s 42-point virtuoso performance powered the Knicks’ come-from-behind 124-118 win over the shorthanded Houston Rockets on Monday night (Tuesday Manila time) at Madison Square Garden. 

It was Brunson’s 18th 40-point game, passing Carmelo Anthony for the third-most in franchise history just in his third season with the Knicks.

Down 11 after the first three quarters, New York outscored Houston 46-29 for the 17-point turnaround, much to the chagrin of Rockets coach Ime Udoka. 

“We scored enough points to win but [we’re] very soft and uncompetitive defensively, just going at us one-on-one and we're complaining about offensive fouls, not boxing out, not doing our assignment… Even our supposed defenders got cooked,” Udoka said. 

Brunson was unstoppable and unflappable, especially down the stretch. He scored 17 of the Knicks’ last 26 points. The Knicks captain went 5-for-6 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line during crunch time.

His layup with 1:38 remaining gave the Knicks a 115-114 lead in a see-saw battle that saw 20 lead changes. Then he followed it up with a cold-blooded three-pointer with 60 seconds left over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-8 Tari Eason for the dagger. 

Ladies & gentlemen, Jalen Brunson! pic.twitter.com/oUcbyeGcdm

“We know what we’re capable of,” Brunson said. “We put ourselves in those positions. Obviously, we give [Houston] credit, but our [poor] decision-making led us down to double digits. We knew that we were at fault and we knew they were not going to quit, so we had to step it up. Just having the confidence in each other knowing we’re not going to quit.”

Brunson stepped up big time in their first game this season without starting forward OG Anunoby, who suffered a midfoot sprain in their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday. 

The Rockets started small without three of their key players All-Star Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. They outran

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