Brunson & Bench Help Knicks ‘Find a Way’ in 4th. NY 133 Chicago 127

October 29, 2026 LouV 2026-27 0
Jalen Brunson had 38 pts and key buckets down the stretch to help Knicks 'find a way' to win. Photo by AP's David Banks.

The Knicks were down by 19 points with 4:50 left in the 3rd quarter when they woke up and got busy — cutting the deficit to 4 points by the end of the period, then taking control of the game midway through the 4th for a 133-127 win over the Bulls in Chicago on a Wednesday night.

Jalen Brunson, Landry Shamet, and Jordan Clarkson led the charge in the 4th. Brunson had 13 pts in the final 7 minutes on 5-6 shooting including 3 straight 3-pointers. A Brunson deuce tied the game at 109 and was followed by a Shamet 3, consecutive buckets by Clarkson, a Brunson 3, a Clarkson 3, a Brunson deuce, and a Brunson 3 to give NY an 11-pt lead with 3:17 left.

The win didn’t come easy from there though — as Chicago kept hitting 3’s to stay in it — with Caleb Wilson, Josh Giddey, and Jalen Smith each hitting 3’s to pull the Bulls within 3 pts with 46 seconds left.

But NY ‘found a way’ to the win — with Jalen Brunson hitting 1 of 2 free throws with 6 seconds left to give NY a 4-pt lead and ice it.

Brunson finished with 38 pts on 13-25 shooting (6-10 from 3) with 7 assists; OG Anunoby had 23 pts on 7-16 shooting (2-6 from 3); and Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 pts on 7-14 shooting (3-6 from 3).

The Knick bench was exceptional: Clarkson had 18 pts on 7-11 shooting (2-3 from 3); Shamet had 14 pts on 5-10 shooting; Tyler Kolek scored 9 pts on 3-4 shooting from 3 with 9 assists in 18 minutes; and Andre Drummond was dynamite in the middle with 4 pts and 11 rebounds in 15 minutes.

“We found a way,” said Jalen Brunson afterwards. “Honestly I just liked the way we competed regardless of what happened in the 1st half, we were able to fight and we’ll continue to build on that.”

“Gotta take my hat off to our guys, they found a way to get it done,” added coach Mike Brown. “Our bench was fantastic. Landry 4-7 from 3 — huge. Andre Drummond 11 rebounds in 15 minutes. Tyler hit 3 big threes — 9 assists in 18 mins, zero turnovers — just a ball mover. And our Defensive Player of the Game Jordan Clarkson — he’d been on the shelf for a while.”

“What changed the game was our ability to offensive rebound,” added Brown. “23 second-chance points, 16 offensive rebounds, and we needed every single one. Also we did a better job with our turnovers — 3 in the 2nd half. Defensively they were killing us in the paint in the 1st half; we did a better job in the 2nd half — 14 second-half paint points.”

NY improves to 2-3; Chicago falls to 1-4.

1. Knicks Lead 34-33 After 1 Quarter

The Knicks and Bulls played evenly in the 1st quarter, the lead going back and forth and the Knicks taking a 34-30 lead but a Jalen Smith 3 with 4 seconds left pulling Chicago to within 34-33.

NY’s scoring was evenly spread. Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride both hit 3’s in the period — and for both it would be the only points each scored in the game.

Bridges had 3 pts on 1-4 shooting (1-2 from 3) in only 13 minutes — his time eaten up by Jordan Clarkson who did so well off the bench helping NY erase the 19-pt deficit in the 3rd.

And McBride had a tough night — 3 pts on 1-9 shooting (1-7 from 3).

2. Chicago Edges out to 6-Pt Halftime Lead

The game continued close in the 2nd, with the lead swinging back and forth. Jordan Clarkson came off the Knick bench with a bevy of buckets while Chicago got balanced scoring.

Chicago scored the last 6 points of the period, culminating with Tre Jones hitting a 3 from near halfcourt at the buzzer to take a 6-pt halftime lead at 62-56.

3. Chicago Goes Up by 19 Pts with 5 Minutes Left in 3rd

Chicago came out of the half like Bulls and ran over NY to take a 19-pt lead. They were led by led by Norm Powell — who finished with 30 pts on 10-15 shooting (4-9 from 3) — and Jalen Smith who finished with 17 pts on 7-12 shooting (3-7 from 3) with 11 rebounds.

Powell and Smith were powering to the basket or hitting 3’s, and other Bulls were on fire from 3 as well. Matas Buzelis finished with 17 pts on 5-13 shooting (4-6 from 3), Caleb Wilson had 20 pts on 7-18 shooting (3-8 from 3), and Josh Giddey orchestrated — finishing with 10 pts on 4-9 shooting with 11 assists and 8 rebounds.

Skinny 6’10 Leonard Miller was a pain off the bench with 10 pts on 4-8 shooting (1-5 from 3) and Tre Jones finished with 11 pts on 4-8 shooting (1-1 from 3).

4. Knicks Pull Within 5 Before End of 3rd

Chicago was up 87-68 after a Norman Powell 3 with 4:57 left when NY began its comeback.

It started with a 3 by OG Anunoby with 4:44 left. Josh Giddey countered with a bucket but Brunson countered that with a 3, then was fouled taking a 3 and hit 3 free throws to pull NY within 12.

The Knicks’ 2nd team came in, playing alongside Josh Hart, and NY intensified their defense. Andre Drummond put home an offensive rebound to put NY 10 pts down. Hart ripped down a rebound and fed Shamet who fed Tyler Kolek for a 3 and NY was down 7. Hart would finish the night with only 2 pts on 1-6 shooting but had 8 rebounds and 3 assists and was a key to NY’s hustle and D.

As the quarter came to a close, Drummond missed a shot inside but grabbed his own rebound and put it home, Landry Shamet hit a 3, and then Tyler Kolek hit another 3 and NY was down 94-90.

Norm Powell was fouled taking a 3 with 3 seconds left, and hit 2 of 3 free throws to give Chicago a 6-pt lead entering the 4th.

5. Brunson, Clarkson, Shamet Lead Way in 4th

The Knicks were just beginning their assault. KAT came in and popped a 3 to start the 4th, then OG got a bucket off a drive, and KAT dunked inside off a Kolek assist.

And then Jordan Clarkson joined the scoring fray. A Shamet 3 off a Kolek assist tied the game at 107 with 7:32 left.

A Brunson deuce tied the game at 109 and was followed by a Shamet 3, consecutive buckets by Clarkson, a Brunson 3, a Clarkson 3, a Brunson deuce, and a Brunson 3 to give NY an 11-pt lead with 3:17 left.

“Jordan Clarkson hasn’t sulked about his minutes rather he stays ready, competes hard which allows him to have nights like tonight,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “He has the ability to score the ball in many ways but as you see here he defends hard turning defense into offense along with bringing effort/activity.”

That’s when Chicago 3’s in the final minutes pulled them back in it — Caleb Wilson and Josh Giddey hit 3’s to pull Chicago within 5 with 2:10 left.

But Jalen Brunson had an answer — getting the ball after a huge Josh Hart offensive rebound off a Clarkson miss — then deking Norm Powell and popping a CLUTCH 3 for a130-122 Knick lead with 1:33 left.

Still Chicago came back — Matas Buzelis with a free throw and Jalen Smith with a 3 to pull the Bulls within 3 pts with 46 seconds left.

But Powell missed a possible game-tying 3 with 10 seconds left and Brunson was purposely fouled with 6 seconds left. Brunson missed the first of 2 free throws. If he missed the 2nd, Chicago would have one final shot at a tie. But he made the 2nd free throw for the old ballgame. Powell missed a desperation 3, and OG was fouled and made 2 free throws for the final score.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401909886

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