Knicks 102, Magic 98: Scenes from the fourth-quarter clutchitude of Jalen Brunson

The New York Knicks played three quarters of rancid, stank-booty basketball on Tuesday night. They were fortunate that their deficit never surpassed 12 points, as the callow (but very talented) Orlando Magic couldn’t quite put them away. But the fourth quarter is winning time, and don’t look now, but the Knicks have actually been pretty good in the fourth the past few games! New York rode a clutch performance from Jalen Brunson to a 102-98 victory.

This is why Villanova is retiring his jersey, folks!

The other Knicks scuffled through the game for the most part, but they locked down when they needed to. RJ Barrett was awful in the first half, but got a few shots to fall and played some tougher defense in the second half. Julius Randle put up a very respectable Randle line: 22 points, 14 rebounds, six assists. Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points and really lifted a lackluster second unit.

Would it have been nice to dominate a non-playoff contender? Sure, but they can’t all be beauty pageants. A win is a win! More coverage to come.