PORTLAND, Ore. — — Jalen Brunson scored 45 points and the New York Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 105-93 on Thursday night.
Donte DiVincenzo and OG Anunoby had 12 points each for the Knicks, who have won four of their last six games as they fight for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining in the season.
Brunson played his sixth game with 40 or more points this season.
“What can you say, it’s amazing just watching him, and you know he ended up with 17 free throws and I thought there could be a lot more,” said l Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “He’s just smart, he’s sneaky and he does everything.”
Deandre Ayton had 31 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, playing the second of a back-to-back and the last of a six-game homestand. Portland defeated the Atlanta Hawks 106-102 on Wednesday night.
The Knicks led by 22 points in the fourth quarter. Portland got within 98-87 on a long jumper by Ayton with 3:54 left, but the comeback attempt stalled.
Brunson made 15 of 17 free throws. The All-Star did a little bit of everything, finishing with four assists, a steal and a block.
“I just have to keep my mentality and my mind clear, and that’s the only thing I can control,” Brunson said.
Anfernee Simons, who led Portland with 36 points against the Hawks, sat out Thursday. Coach Chauncey Billups said Simons’ knee had been bothering him for a while and after playing more than 40 minutes against the Hawks, the decision was made to sit him out.
Jerami Grant missed his second straight game for the Blazers with a lingering right hamstring strain.
Anunoby played in his second straight game after returning from right elbow surgery Tuesday for a 106-79 home win over Philadelphia. There was a scare when Anunoby grabbed his elbow during the first half and was later seen icing it on the bench. He returned to start the second half.
Before the game, Thibodeau offered his condolences to the family of former Knicks player RJ Barrett over the death of his younger brother Nathan. Barrett’s current team, the Toronto Raptors, announced Nathan’s death in a statement. Details were not known.
The Knicks had a 26-25 advantage after the first quarter, then pulled away in the second on a 15-2 run capped by Isaiah Hartenstein’s jumper that made it 44-33. The Knicks outscored the Blazers 29-16 in the second quarter.
New York entered the break with a 55-41 lead, led by Brunson with 21 points. When Brunson stepped to the line for free throws, some in the sizable crowd of Knicks fans at the Moda Center shouted “MVP!”
The Knicks pushed the lead to as many as 20 points in the third quarter and entered the final period with an 85-68 lead.
“I thought we did a good job in the first quarter of matching their physicality, knowing how we were going to play. I thought we just had a good quarter,” Billups said. “Then we had a tough second quarter, we didn’t get any shots. The turnovers really hurt us. »
Ayton finished with his seventh straight double-double.
FOLLOWING
Knicks: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
Trail Blazers: Visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
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