Knicks Jump Out to 23-0 Lead in Rout. NY 146 Utah 112

December 6, 2025 LouV 2025-26 0
Deuce McBride with another 3. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

The Knicks set an NBA record by jumping out to a 23-0 lead, increased the lead to 28 points after 1 quarter, led by 21 at the half, by 38 points after 3 quarters, and by 40 points in the 4th in an absolute blow out of Utah, 146-112, on a Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Miles McBride and Jalen Brunson shot LIGHTS OUT from 3 — McBride was 6 for 7 from 3 at one point, finishing 7 for 10 from 3 for 22 pts. Brunson went 6 for 9 from 3 and 9-17 overall for 33 pts in 31 minutes; he didn’t play in the 4th quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns shot 4-6 from 3 and 5-11 overall for 18 pts in only 22 minutes — resting much of the 2nd half.

McBride came off the bench as OG Anunoby was back for the first time in weeks after his hamstring pull. OG had 11 pts on 4-8 shooting in 23 minutes.

“I didn’t really notice it,” said OG Anunoby afterwards about the Knicks holding Utah scoreless as they jumped out to a 23-0 lead. “We were just playing. Someone told us later. I didn’t even notice they didn’t score, we were just getting stops and going.”

“It’s hard in this league to go up 20, and then maintain 20 the rest of the game,” said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “Teams are talented. Defensively we started making sure we were handling our business the right way.”

NY improves to 15-7, in 2nd place in the East, 2.5 behind Detroit. Utah falls to 8-14.

1. Knicks Jump Out to 23-0 Lead

KAT kicked off the game with a 3, Josh Hart hit a deuce, Jalen Brunson hit a step back, KAT hit 2 free throws, Mikal Bridges made a drive and NY was up 13-0.

Miles McBride then came off the bench for OG Anunoby, who was making his first appearance in weeks. McBride immediately hit a 3 and the Knicks were up 16-0.

The Knick Defense continued to force Utah misses — as Jusuf Nurkic and Keyonte George were denied on drives, and Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey were missing 3’s.

Mikal Bridges dunked off a Josh Hart pass then made a tip shot off an offensive rebound the next time down and NY was up 20-0.

A Jalen Brunson 3 made it 23-0.

Finally, Keyonte George hit a drive-and-1 and Utah was down 23-3.

But NY kept coming — Jordan Clarkson hit a 3, Brunson hit 3 free throws after being fouled on a 3, AG Anunoby returned and joined the scoring with a jumper-and-a-foul for a 3-pt play, and Brunson capped off the quarter with a 3 near the buzzer for a 28-pt NY lead, 41-13.

2. NY Up by 21 at Half

The Knicks continued their dominance at the start of the 2nd quarter, as KAT was getting anything he wanted inside and out, McBride hit another 3, Jordan Clarkson added to the scoring punch, and Mitchell Robinson grabbed loose balls and rebounds, and smashed down a dunk inside.

Keyonte George, Kyle Filipowski, Kevin Love, and Lauri Markkanen returned fire — but a Josh Hart pullup and a McBride 3-and-1 gave NY a 29-pt lead with 4 minutes left in the quarter.

Kevin Love fired back with a 3, but McBride hit another 3; Markkanen hit a 3, but McBride hit ANOTHER 3 and NY was still up by 29 with 2:52 left in the quarter.

A 6-0 run by Utah — with drives by Nurkic and Markkanen — in the last 1:23 of the quarter pulled Utah within 21 points.

3. Knicks Increase Lead to 38 Pts in 3rd

A Keyonte George bucket pulled Utah within 19 to start the 3rd quarter, but Karl-Anthony Towns answered with consecutive 3’s and NY started to increase their lead again.

Jalen Brunson sandwiched an Ace Bailey 3 with back-to-back 3’s and NY was up by 27 at 83-56.

Miles McBride hit a 3, Jordan Clarkson hit a 3, McBride hit another 3, and Josh Hart dunked on a drive for 11 straight points and a 35-pt Knick lead at 102-67 with 2:53 left in the 3rd. The rout was reaching new levels.

Brunson hit consecutive 3’s and NY was up by 38 at 111-74.

And then when Brunson missed a drive, Mitchell Robinson was there for an offensive rebound and putback. NY 115 Utah 74 — a 41-pt lead.

4. Starters Rest in the 4th

The Knicks pulled their starters for the 4th — with KAT, Brunson, and Hart not playing at all, and Bridges, OG and McBride leaving after a few minutes. Ariel Hukporti, Guerschon Yabusele, and Mohamed Diawara got extended minutes, along with Tyler Kolek whose playing time was cut into in the first 3 quarters with the return of OG.

Kolek looked good again — 7 pts in 14 minutes on 3-6 shooting, 1-3 from 3.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810198

 

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