Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson lead the Knicks to a 99-95 victory over the Nets

NEW YORK — — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored eight points down the stretch and finished with 17 as the New York Knicks beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-95 on Tuesday night.

OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

D’Angelo Russell finished with 23 points and 10 assists and Cam Johnson scored 16 for the Nets, who have lost four straight and nine of their last 10.

New York had a double-digit lead in the third quarter before the Nets rallied and pulled out to a one-point lead, 88-87, on a 3-pointer by Keon Johnson with 5:18 left.

The Knicks battled back and took the lead 91-90 with 2:18 left on a jumper by Brunson, who ended up making three straight shots, including a step-back jumper with 1:25 left to put the Knicks ahead 95-92.

Russell answered with a 3-pointer to cut the Brooklyn deficit to 97-95 with 52 seconds left. Johnson then missed a 3-point attempt before Brunson sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Takeaways
Knicks: Mikal Bridges had 10 points in his first game back in Brooklyn after the July 2024 trade.

Nets: Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said leading scorer Cam Thomas has been doing “on-court activities, no contact” as he continues to rehab from a left hamstring injury. Thomas has not played since January 2.

Key moment
Johnson had a chance to put the Nets ahead with 15.1 seconds left, but missed a 26-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key. Brunson was then fouled and hit a pair of free throws.

Key state
The Knicks improved to 8-0 when holding teams under 100 points this season.

Next
The Nets host Phoenix on Wednesday night. The Knicks host Sacramento on Saturday night.

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