Jalen Brunson's 40 points not enough to erase mistakes in Knicks' OT loss to Pacers

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Feb 10, 2026

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NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns saved the day — but he couldn’t stay on the floor long enough to reap the benefits of his own heroics.

After Jalen Brunson missed three consecutive attempts to put the Knicks up late in regulation against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, Towns was fouled on a put-back attempt on Landry Shamet’s pull-up 3 and made two free throws with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime.

Less than three minutes of game time later, he’d commit an offensive foul — his sixth personal foul of the night — clipping Andrew Nembhard while setting a screen for Brunson.

The Knicks would go on to lose, 137-134, despite a furious comeback attempt in the final minute of the extra period. After winning nine out of 10 games, they have now lost two of their last three.

And that sequence is part of the roller-coaster ride that has been Towns’ second year in New York, his first under new head coach Mike Brown. Towns’ scoring metrics are down across the board, and he’s not as involved as he’s been within his teams’ offenses in years past. But he’s finding new ways to impact winning — crashing the glass, playmaking, and being mobile on defense — at least until his biggest shortcoming comes back to bite him in the end.

“Great players find a way to make their teammates better and/or to impact the game, and there are a lot of ways that [KAT] can impact the game,” Brown said ahead of tipoff on Tuesday. “[Defenses] pay so much attention to him. That’s one of their focal points; that’s why they’re putting the four on him, trying to double team with the five and all that other stuff. So he’s highly impactful.

“So to see him embracing that is fantastic, especially being one of the leaders of the team. You lead with your voice which he does at times and you lead by example which he does as well. So to see that is great.”

Towns finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field to go with 14 rebounds and three assists against the Pacers on Tuesday. His plus-six net rating was the second-highest of all Knicks players to suit up behind only Josh Hart (plus-11).

But he logged just 32 minutes due to foul trouble, watching large chunks of the fourth quarter from the bench before disqualification via silly foul in overtime. His usual starting teammates — Brunson, Hart and Mikal Bridges — each played 40 or more minutes.

The Knicks might not have needed an overtime or Towns’ late-game heroics had they defended the 3-point line — or any Pacer — on Tuesday night. Indiana connected on 18 of 45 attempts from downtown on the night, including 16 of 37 through the opening three quarters.

They certainly wouldn’t have needed the extra period if Captain Clutch saved the day.

But Brunson missed a pull-up 3 with 1:02 left in regulation. He missed a stop-and-pop 14-footer with 33.7 seconds left in the final frame. And he missed another pull-up 3 with 10.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Brunson went on to score 40 points on 15-of-31 shooting from the field to go with eight assists and five rebounds but didn’t have his textbook game-winning moments down the stretch.

Bridges scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, and Hart (15 points) and Shamet (17) combined for 32 points. The short-handed Knicks bench without Mitchell Robinson (load management) and OG Anunoby (toe) generated just 18 points to 43 from the Pacers, who were led by 30 from Pascal Siakam and 24 from Nembhard

The loss marked a significant turn for a Knicks defense that held six opponents in a seven-game stretch to 101 or fewer points. The Knicks have now allowed at least 118 points in three of their last four games: 118 in a 37-point blowout loss to the Detroit Pistons, 127 points to the Denver Nuggets (though 19 points came in both overtimes) and now 137 points to the Pacers on Tuesday.

Next up, the Knicks travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers in the second leg of a back-to-back on Wednesday before a much-needed week of rest for the NBA All-Star break.