OG Anunoby scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter Monday night for the host New York Knicks, who rode a dominant final 12 minutes to a 103-90 win over the upset-minded Brooklyn Nets.
Landry Shamet scored a team-high 22 points off the bench for the defending NBA champion Knicks, who outscored the Nets 28-11 in the fourth to win for the third time in four games since opening the season 0-3.
Karl-Anthony Towns (11 points, 16 rebounds) posted a double-double while Jalen Brunson scored 19 points as New York won its 15th straight game against the Nets.
Julius Randle (21 points, 11 rebounds) recorded a double-double against his former team for the Nets, who were trying to win for the second time in as many nights after losing their first five games. Randle spent five seasons with the Knicks before being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the blockbuster that sent Towns to New York in October 2024.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 points while Nolan Traore (17) and reserve Mikel Brown Jr. (13) also got into double figures for the Nets, who led 79-75 entering the fourth quarter.
The Knicks led by as many as nine in the first quarter before Moritz Wagner ended the quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play to pull the Nets to 27-21 and spark a 12-0 run that ended with Keon Ellis sinking a 3 to put Brooklyn ahead 30-27 with 9:02 left.
The Knicks answered with a 7-0 spurt, and the Nets scored five straight points before Shamet scored six points for New York as it closed the half with a 17-9 run to take a 51-44 lead.
The Knicks extended the lead to 69-60 on a pair of free throws by Anunoby with 5:16 left in the third before the Nets scored 13 straight points to begin a quarter-ending 19-6 run.
Brown Jr. and Porter Jr. had six points apiece during the surge.
Josh Hart opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, and Anunoby gave the Knicks the lead for good by sinking 3-pointers on consecutive trips. New York opened its first double-digit lead at 91-81 on Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer with 7:48 remaining and led by at least seven the rest of the way.
