Jalen Brunson Uplifts Fans in Injury Return as Knicks Beat Mavs Without Cooper Flagg

The New York Knicks grabbed a 113-111 road win over the Dallas Mavericks in Jalen Brunson's return, marking their first road victory of the season.

Landry Shamet delivered in the final minutes for the New York Knicks as the team struggled to hit free throws in clutch time to ice the game.

Brunson led the Knicks with 28 points, five assists and three rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points and 14 rebounds to help New York improve to 9-5. Shamet added nine points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

Cooper Flagg missed his first game of the season with an illness, per ESPN's Shams Charania, having started every game for Dallas prior to Sunday. In his absence, Naji Marshall led the Mavericks with 23 points off the bench, with Klay Thompson adding 13 and D'Angelo Russell finishing with 23 in the loss.

Dallas has lost five of its last six games, with one win coming in a 138-133 overtime win against Portland, leaving the Mavericks near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Fans reacted to Brunson's strong return as New York secured the win.

The Knicks held a slim two-point lead over the Mavericks at halftime, paced by 15 points from Brunson, with Mikal Bridges adding 11 and KAT contributing five. Dallas' Marshall led the Mavericks with 19 points at the break.

The Mavericks battled back in the fourth, taking a 90-89 lead early in the quarter before Brunson and the Knicks regained a one point lead off a decisive Landry Shamet three pointer, assisted by Brunson with just over a minute left and again with 31.4 seconds left, coming up clutch.

Dallas will host New Orleans on Friday, while the Knicks remain on the road to face the Orlando Magic.