Karl Anthony-Towns collected 37 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting New York Knicks pulled away in the third quarter for a 113-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
The Knicks improved to 2-5 on the road and bounced back from Saturday’s 12-point loss in Orlando. New York also beat the Nets for the 12th straight time since Jan. 28, 2023.
Towns withstood an injury scare with 7:56 left when he drove to the basket and got his legs tangled under the hoop with Brooklyn’s Terance Mann while landing on his right hip. He winced, limped off the floor and completed the three-point play to give New York a 99-85 lead before hitting a 3-pointer on New York’s next possession.
Towns made 14 of 20 shots and did not attempt a 3-pointer until late in the third before making 3 of 4 triples. He finished two shy of his season high after missing four of his first five shots.
Jalen Brunson added 27 for the Knicks, who scored 62 points in the second half. Mikal Bridges contributed 16 while Jordan Clarkson chipped in 12 off the bench as the Knicks shot 51.1%.
Josh Hart finished with seven points, seven assists and 12 rebounds in his first start of the season for New York, which scored 52 points in the paint.
Noah Clowney struggled defensively against Towns at times and led the Nets with a career-high 31 points. Clowney made a career-high seven 3s and shot 9-of-17 overall.
Michael Porter Jr. added 16 but misfired on 8 of 9 3-pointers. Rookie Drake Powell contributed 15 as the Nets shot a season-low 37.9% and fell to 0-8 at home.
The Nets took a 26-24 lead after Clowney sank a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in the first quarter. Towns scored 11 points in New York’s 15-2 spurt that put them up 45-33 with 4:56 left on a floater by Brunson but the Nets charged back with a 15-6 run and cut the lead to 51-48 by halftime.
A strong drive by Towns opened a 65-56 lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left and his first 3-point try nearly two minutes later cleanly went in for a 72-58 edge. Towns hit another short jumper in the final minutes of the quarter and New York held an 89-75 edge into the fourth.
