Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 26 points as the New York Knicks stomped out the Portland Trail Blazers, 127-97, at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. OG Anunoby added 24 points as the Knicks won their fifth straight contest which has landed New York at the top of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference.
It was a team effort in the second half that led to the positive results for New York. “One of the things we talked about at halftime, we had nine assists,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said following the game. “In the second half, our guys came out, tried to touch the paint, tried to move the basketball and we generated 19 assists just in the second half alone.”
Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges tied for the team-lead with five assists in the matchup against Portland, while Tyler Kolek added four assists off the bench. Karl-Anthony Towns managed to find time to add three assists to his 14 points and 20 rebounds on a chilly night inside the World’s Most Famous Arena.
New York surged to an early first quarter lead and never looked back on Friday night. The Trail Blazers narrowed the Knicks advantage to 10 points at the halftime break (59-49), but the aforementioned teamwork in the second half was enough to get the job done. The Knicks added to their lead in the third quarter, before running away with the game in the fourth quarter.
The win improves New York’s record to 30-18 on the 2025-26 campaign. That record leaves them in the penthouse of the Atlantic Division and second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Detroit Pistons (35-12). The Knicks welcome LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (29-18) to Madison Square Garden for a tilt beginning in primetime at 7 pm ET on Sunday night. It could be the final game at MSG for one of the game’s most legendary stars.
For more on the Knicks, visits AMNY.com.
