NBA: Jalen Brunson, Knicks’ big fourth quarter take down Kings

Jalen Brunson scored 35 points and handed out 11 assists as the host New York Knicks erased a 21-point deficit and pulled away for a 120-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.

The Knicks (45-31) snapped a three-game losing streak and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-place Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings. New York has the same record as the fourth-place Orlando Magic but would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker.

After learning Julius Randle would be out for the season due to a shoulder injury that he sustained Jan. 27, the Knicks trailed by 21 early in the second quarter before gradually rallying and outscoring Sacramento 33-22 in the fourth.

Josh Hart added a season-high 31 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists. Donte DiVincenzo contributed 21 while Bojan Bogdanovic and Miles McBride chipped in 12 apiece as the Knicks shot 55 percent from the field and tallied 34 assists.

De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points but was 2 of 9 in the fourth as the Kings (44-32) fell one game behind the seventh-place New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference. Keegan Murray added 18 and Domantas Sabonis finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 59th straight double-double.

Fox made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points as the Kings shot a scorching 66.7 percent on field-goal attempts and 70 percent from distance to hold a 35-20 lead after the opening quarter.

Fox’s fourth 3 extended the lead to 46-25 a little over three minutes into the second, but Brunson scored eight points in a 16-2 run to make it a 48-41 deficit with 4:01 left. The Knicks trailed 60-52 at halftime after Brunson hit a contested 3 right before the horn.

After trailing by 14 less than two minutes into the third, the Knicks used a 12-4 run to get within 76-72 on a 3 by McBride with 5:21 remaining. New York then erased an eight-point deficit and forged an 84-84 tie on DiVincenzo’s 3 with 70 seconds left. He hit three throws for an 87-84 lead with 32 seconds left before Fox’s 3 tied it with 10 seconds left.

Fox’s trey snapped a 92-92 tie with 9:55 left in regulation, but the Knicks scored the next 13 to forge a 105-95 lead on Brunson’s deep 3 with 6:28 left. Consecutive hoops by Hart and Brunson pushed the lead to 117-103 with 2:24 left and essentially finished it off. — Field Level Media/Reuters