NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson returned to lead a victory and give an important assist to Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks point guard scored 24 points in his first game back since suffering a foot injury, lifting the home squad to a 116-110 victory Saturday afternoon over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The big play was an alley-oop pass to Robinson (eight points, nine rebounds), who jammed it with 24 seconds remaining for the game’s final bucket.
After struggling the last three games, Robinson vented on social media earlier this week about his limited offensive role. The momentous dunk was only his fourth shot attempt of Saturday’s game, but Robinson was important in other ways: he guarded the two-time reigning MVP, Jokic, down the stretch and picked up a pivotal steal with three minutes remaining.
The Knicks (42-31) have already eclipsed their highest season win total in a decade. They’ve won three straight. The Nuggets (47-23) lost for the fifth time in their last six games.
Jokic finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists but also committed six turnovers.
RJ Barrett added 21 points for the Knicks, while Julius Randle contributed 20 points and seven rebounds.
