The New York Knicks ensured that Henrik Lundqvist was the only victorious King visiting Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
A fantastic fourth allowed the Knicks to survive another challenge from the Sacramento Kings, who corralled California’s capital with a 103-87 win to avoid a sweep in the annual interconference couple.
New York (28-18) withstood a sterling showing from DeMar DeRozan to secure its first three-game winning streak since late December. DeRozan proved to be brilliant from mid-range en route to a game-best 34 points but that was no match for dramatic dozen from the hosts.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 28 points, 11 coming from a perfect 4-of-4 output in the final frame. Mikal Bridges had brilliant bookends with 18 points: he was 4-of-6 in the opening period and 3-of-4 in the last after he was essentially exiled from the clutch stages of Saturday’s win in Philadelphia. Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns united for 24 of the Knicks’ 44 rebounds.
Despite letting the Kings linger, the Knicks did head coach Mike Brown proud against his previous employer. The finishing touches came in a fourth quarter that began with a 72-all tie. Though it didn’t stop him from being sat down the stretch on a 17-point, 11-rebound night (5-of-15 from the field), Towns’ three-pointer off a feed from Landry Shamet 20 seconds in created a permanent lead and began Sacramento’s end.
It took a while for the Knicks to build on that early momentum, as the next few minutes were spent on the final additions to a night that featured a combined 38 turnovers. But consecutive tallies from Bridges and another Towns triple provided more foreshadowing and a Kings timeout. From there, the Knicks embarked on a 23-9 run in the final eight minutes to create a lead that summitted at 18 and avenge a one-sided defeat out west earlier this month.
While the previous win over the Knicks was part of a four-game winning streak, the Kings (12-36) have now dropped six in a row. DeRozan’s mid-range mastery made up for a brutal night from deep, as the Kings sank just 5-of-30 with an extra point on the line. The resulting 16.7 percent success rate was the lowest for a Knicks opponent this season.
Sacramento played Tuesday’s game with Zach LaVine, who sat out due to back soreness.
Tuesday kicked off a crowded stretch of action for the Knicks, who immediately return to action on Wednesday night up north against the Toronto Raptors (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
