Scenes from a 32-point turnaround to beat the Kings

The New York Knicks (45-31) came into tonight’s game with the Sacramento Kings (44-32) having lost three in a row. From the start of this evening’s tilt, four straight seemed very possible.

De’Aaron Fox and the Kings burst out of the gate with guns blazing while the Knicks struggled to make their shots, scoring just 20 first-quarter points. After falling behind by 21, New York, led by Jalen Brunson, managed to cut the score to 60-52 at halftime. The home team fought back in the third period to win it 35-27, and fantastic fourth-quarter play by the Nova Knicks carried them to a 120-109 victory.

For Sacramento, Domantas Sabonis recorded his 59th double-double with 17 points and 11 boards; De’Aaron Fox contributed 29 points on 11-of-26 shooting; and their bench outscored New York’s 34 to 14. For New York, Josh Hart scored a season-high 31 points, plus nine boards and eight assists on 14-of-19 shooting; Jalen Brunson racked up 35 points on 12-of-20 from the field; and Donte DiVincenzo chipped in 21 points and made five three-pointers.

First Half

To start, the Kings hummed like a precision automobile while the Knicks couldn’t shift out of first gear. Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and Keon Ellis combined to knock down five three-pointers, and the Kings made 14 of their 21 field goal attempts in the period, including seven three-pointers on 10 attempts.

In the positive column, Mitchell Robinson checked in late in the frame and promptly snagged three O-boards—and made a free throw! And Josh Hart, who was hampered by a sprained wrist on Tuesday in Miami, aggressively attacked the paint tonight and showed no indication of being compromised.

When they last played, Jalen Brunson scored 42 points as the Knicks limited Sacramento to just 91 points. Mike Brown’s Kings made Jalen work for his points tonight.

Sacramento began the first quarter with a 12-6 run; they started the second 11-5. Once again, the Knicks had to dig themselves out of a hole. After falling behind by 21, they went on a 16-2 run to decrease the differential. The Kings helped them out with seven turnovers in the half. Gotta love this ball movement:

Deuce McBride has struggled against Sacramento’s height. He attempted (and missed) just one shot in their last meeting; tonight, he bricked seven times before finally swishing from the corner. To rally in the second half, the Knicks would need more from him and Donte DiVincenzo, who had shot 2-of-8 for seven points.

Brunson drained a last-second triple to cut New York’s deficit to 60-52 at halftime. He led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting. For the Kings, Fox had 16 points on 6-of-9. Sacramento had outshot New York by 65% to 48%. New York had an assist on 17 of their 19 made buckets and had outscored the visitors in the paint, 26-22, but making just 5-of-15 from deep had nullified their first-half positives.

Second Half

Sacramento sophomore Keegan Murray and De’Aaron Fox combined for eight points, but back-to-back three-pointers by DiVincenzo helped the Knicks slice the Kings’ lead to six. A few minutes later, McBride hit a pair of triples to keep the pressure on Sacramento.

A few head-scratching no-calls impeded New York’s progress yet again, e.g., at the 3:13 mark when Jalen ended up on his ass and seconds later Sacramento’s Trey Lyles swished a triple. Just reporting a crime, officer.

Josh Hart played a masterful quarter, scoring 10 in the period and racing the court with nary a pant. Teammate DiVo—with 12-third quarter points of his own—hit a triple and free throws to give New York a brief lead with 30 seconds remaining. Fox answered with a triple, and the game was tied at 87 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, New York found a solution to Sacramento’s blitz. When the Kings would double Brunson at the top of the arc, he’d thread a pass forward to either Hartenstein or Hart who would barrel down the lane. Sometimes I take for granted that the Knicks are competent on offense now. Here, Hart shows how it’s done on his way to a new season-high.

A 17-2 New York run let them grab their biggest lead of the night (12) with six minutes left. Since their 21-point first-half hole, New York had completed a 33-point turnaround. On a day when we learned that Julius Randle will be out for the rest of the season, the remaining Knicks showed us that they’re nowhere near ready to quit.

Up Next

Who’s responsible for this schedule? Our heroes are Chicago-bound for a tilt with the Bulls tomorrow. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score