Jalen Brunson scored 20 points Wednesday night for the New York Knicks, who snapped out of their slump with a historic 120-66 thumping of the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
The win was the most lopsided in franchise history for the Knicks, easily surpassing a trio of 48-point wins, the most recent of which was a 130-82 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers on Apr. 21, 1994.
A 3-pointer by the Nets’ Danny Wolf with 8.5 seconds left prevented New York from earning the largest-margin victory in the NBA this season. The Charlotte Hornets blew out the Utah Jazz 150-95 on Jan. 10.
The 66 points for the Nets were the fewest by an NBA team since March 16, 2015, when the Hornets lost to the Jazz 94-66. It was the fewest points allowed by the Knicks since they beat the Washington Wizards 103-65 on April 13, 2012.
The 66 points for the Nets were their fewest since a 90-65 loss to the Miami Heat on March 12, 2005, when the franchise was based in New Jersey.
Landry Shamet scored 18 points off the bench while fellow reserve Miles McBride had 14 points for the Knicks. New York ended a four-game losing streak and won for just the third time in the last 12 games a day after Brunson reportedly called a players-only meeting to make it clear the team needed to find answers for its recent struggles.
Starters Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points), Josh Hart (11) and Mikal Bridges (11) all got into double figures.
Michael Porter Jr. (12 points) and reserve Ziaire Williams (11) were the only players to score in double figures for the Nets, who have lost 11 of 13.
The Nets took their final lead at 6-4 before Towns scored seven points as the Knicks took control with a 14-0 run. Brooklyn pulled within seven points twice, the last time at 24-17, before New York ended the quarter with a 14-3 surge to extend the lead to 38-20.
Towns’ 3-pointer with 7:39 left in the second put the Knicks ahead by 20 points for good at 47-26. New York led 60-38 at halftime, moved ahead by 30 points for the first time at 76-46 on Brunson’s jumper with 4:59 remaining in the third and led 88-56 at the end of the period.
The Knicks opened the fourth quarter on a 16-0 run and led by as many as 59 before the Nets scored the final five points. Brooklyn shot just 3-of-17 from the field in the fourth.
