Back to full strength after missing Jalen Brunson in their previous two contests, the Knicks hit the 41-game midpoint of the season with a redemptive victory at the Garden.
Brunson returned from his calf injury to score 30 points with seven assists in 37 minutes Wednesday as the Knicks beat the Rockets 109-94 on Tom Thibodeau’s 66th birthday.
Julius Randle provided 31 points with eight rebounds and OG Anunoby contributed 15 points and four steals in his seventh win in nine games with the Knicks (24-17), who also will play Thursday night at MSG against the Wizards before RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley return to New York on Saturday with the Raptors.
Like Brunson, Josh Hart also played a strong game — 10 points and 13 boards in 30 minutes — after being listed as questionable with a knee issue.
After signing former All-Star guard Fred VanVleet (24 points) and Dillon Brooks and hiring former Celtics coach Ime Udoka in the offseason, the improved Rockets still are 19-21 — just three wins behind their total for all of last season.
“I think they’ve added some real quality defensive players,” Thibodeau said before the game. “VanVleet is very disruptive, Dillon Brooks is very good. They’ve done a really good job keeping the ball out of the paint. Those are things that they do well. They’re athletic, so we have to make sure we take care of the ball and we gotta trust the pass.”
Brunson nailed his first two 3-point attempts, but the Knicks were 3-for-10 from deep in a sluggish opening quarter.
Randle’s 10 points kept the Knicks within two, at 25-23, with Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green netting seven apiece for Houston.
Hart drew the Knicks even with a drive to the hoop in the opening minute of the second and Quentin Grimes sank five free throws as part of a 10-2 run by the Knicks bridging the two quarters.
Grimes also knocked down a 3-point attempt later in the period — and Randle slammed home a dunk off a Donte DiVincenzo steal — as the Knicks carried a 48-46 advantage into intermission.
A 3-pointer by Randle and a traditional three-point play by Brunson in the opening minute of the third helped the Knicks expand their cushion to six
Anunoby drilled back-to-back corner treys and he added an inside bucket for a 64-55 lead, and Randle pushed it to double figures with his second 3-pointer barely four minutes into the session.
The Knicks, who flushed a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter Monday against the Magic, led by eight this time entering the final 12 minutes.
Grimes (11 points) connected again from long range early in the fourth for a 13-point cushion, and the Rockets drew no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Anunoby punctuated the win with a two-handed stuff off a feed from Randle plus the and-1 free throw for a 96-81 game with five minutes remaining.
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