Refuse to Lose

Behind their indomitable point guard, the Knicks earned their grittiest, gutsiest win of the season

Good MORNING! I’m scheduling this to publish at 2:27 am and can’t promise I’ll have gotten any sleep by the time you’re reading this. If that game didn’t get you amped to 11, I don’t know what will.

Let’s relive a wild night at the Garden...

Game 50: Knicks 124, Rockets 118

• From the opening tip, the Rockets brought the energy and toughness they’re known for, and the ice cold Knicks were down by 11 after 15 minutes

• As would become the theme of the night, New York fought back to get within five at the break.

• A 10-0 third quarter run spurred by defense put the Knicks up three, but a 16-4 Rockets counterpunch had the home team back down 11 entering the fourth.

• KAT, Mikal and the bench held the fort until Brunson checked in and took over, scoring 17 of New York’s 26 points in the final six minutes.

• With OG out, Precious Achiuwa got the start although Deuce closed with the starters, helping the Knicks score 46 in the final frame. Ariel Hukporti entered the rotation but played only eight minutes due to foul trouble.

• The bionic man, Mikal Bridges, badly twisted his ankle in the fourth but stayed in.

• According to Thibs, Anunoby is has a mild foot sprain and is day to day, while Mitchell Robinson has been cleared for contact.

What a freaking game.

What a freaking GAME.

It was a game made special by the individual brilliance at the center of it as much as it was by the grit that defined it.

In Jalen Brunson, the prince who was promised, those two things go hand in hand.

From the day he arrived, his toughness created the outline for what this version of the Knicks would be, and ever since then, the front office has given color to that silhouette by adding pieces in his image.

Those pieces coalesced last night in a way we haven’t quite seen yet this season.

Until now.