Jalen Brunson comes up clutch again as Knicks escape with thrilling OT win over Heat

MIAMI — When the clock struck winning time, the Knicks were again in the safe and reliable hands of their point guard.

Riding — who else? — Jalen Brunson, New York overcame a nasty first half to complete its biggest comeback of the season in Sunday’s 116-112 overtime thriller over the Heat.

Brunson scored 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and OT, further cementing his Captain Clutch name while calmly dissecting Erik Spoelstra’s defense down the stretch.

It pushed the Knicks (40-20), winners of three straight overall, to 5-0 in overtime games.

“The thing that’s unique about Jalen is his poise under pressure and he can beat you a lot of different ways,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He can beat you with a sH๏τ, he can beat you off the dribble, he can beat you with a finish, he can beat you with a pᴀss. He also understands who is going well. And are they sending two at him? Are they sending three at him? Are they collapsing? What’s the right play? And he’s great at it.”

Brunson was the hero again, but got plenty of help Sunday to erase a 19-point second-quarter deficit.

OG Anunoby, in particular, was a two-way powerhouse while dropping 23 points with nine rebounds and five ᴀssists.

His putback with about a minute remaining in regulation cut the Knicks’ deficit to two and represented the biggest play of the evening.

Anunoby, who has put together consecutive strong performances, then dunked the dagger with 17 seconds remaining in OT.

“Phenomenal,” Thibodeau said. “Just timely rebounds. In traffic. ᴀssists. He did it all. Tremendous game from him.”

Josh Hart was also in the mix in crunch time, recovering from a nasty spill on the court in the fourth quarter to collect a big bucket and steal.

He said the fall on his back and head was painful, but he never asked for a sub.

“It was obviously a hard fall,” Hart said. “Then, I didn’t want to be soft, so I got up and kept playing and continued to be aggressive. It’s going to be sore [Monday], but hey man, I had a game to play.”

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