Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart propel Jalen Brunson-less Knicks past Jazz for ninth straight win

Being down their top two point guards was not enough to deter the Knicks against the hapless Jazz.

All-Star Jalen Brunson and sixth man Miles McBride were out of the lineup with injuries, but the Knicks still cruised to their ninth consecutive win, picking up in 2025 where they left off in December with a 119-103 victory at the Garden.

Veteran reserve Cam Payne made his first start of the season for the Knicks with Brunson missing his first game due to right calf тιԍнтness. McBride also was a late scratch with a hamstring issue suffered in pregame warmups.

Josh Hart recorded his second consecutive triple-double and fourth of the season with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 12 ᴀssists as the Knicks improved to 24-10 overall.

“We have great depth. We’ve got guys that can score the ball,” Hart said after the game. “It just shows the difference between last year and this year.

“Last year, [with Brunson] out, I’m not sure how that would have gone. … But with him out, we still got the depth of KAT, ’Kal, OG and those guys are very good at scoring the ball.”

Indeed, Karl-Anthony Towns had another monster game with a team-leading 31 points and 21 boards, Mikal Bridges netted 27 and OG Anunony added 22 with three steals — and a primary shutdown of All-Star Lauri Markkanen (6-for-22).

And Payne finished with eight points, nine ᴀssists and three steals in a season-high 35 minutes for the Knicks, who will face a sterner test in Oklahoma City on Friday night against the West-leading Thunder.

Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sєxton scored 25 points apiece for the Jazz, who have dropped five in a row to fall to 7-25.

“Everybody just stays ready. I feel like we got a pretty good bench and everybody is always working on their game. And when their time is called, everybody is ready,” Payne said. “One thing about me, I’m always ready. So I think that helps me.

“So when something like that happens I’m already going. It was a shock, but I was ready to go. I’m just glad we got the win.”

The Knicks spotted Utah an early 10-point lead, but Anunoby secured a steal from Jordan Clarkson and strolled in for a two-handed slam to spur the turnaround. He then drove for another inside bucket before Payne’s steal led to a Bridges layup in transition to help the Knicks trail by just 25-24 through one quarter.

Payne recorded three of the Knicks’ seven swipes in the first half, yet another example of the vast improvement in team defense that spurred a 12-2 stretch in December.

“I’m definitely ‘defense wins games, defense wins championships’ kind of guy. I felt like we did that tonight,” Payne said. “That’s what we had to do. … With [two] guys down, we’ve got to find a way to win games and tonight I feel like it was on the defensive end.”

A left-handed dunk and another driving layup by Precious Achiuwa to open the second — the latter off a Bridges rejection of Clarkson — put the Knicks ahead by three.

Another trey by Payne and two more from Towns helped push the lead to 13 with under three minutes remaining, and the Knicks carried a 56-46 edge into intermission.

A put-back slam by Markkanen and a Sєxton steal and layup trimmed Utah’s deficit to five midway through the third, but Anunoby finished multiple times at the rim and buried a key 3-pointer as the Knicks held an 87-79 advantage entering the final 12 minutes.

The Knicks then opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 spurt, including five points by Hart to secure his second straight triple-double, to double their lead to 16.

“It’s just a good, hard-fought win. Just find a way to win. That’s what the season is — next guy get in there and get the job done,” Tom Thibodeau said. “It’s why it’s a team, and it’s why you work together. Everyone has to prioritize the team and make sacrifices.

“Over the course of the season, whether it’s an injury, illness, foul trouble, you need everybody, and then you’re called upon, be ready.”

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