Brunson's 22-point first quarter sends Knicks past Bulls 135-105 and back to .500

Jalen Brunson had been struggling with his shot early this season. On Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden he found it in a hurry. He scored 22 points in the first quarter, one more than Chicago managed as a team, and the New York Knicks beat the Bulls 135-105. The win evens their record at 4-4.

Brunson finished with a season-high 33 points in 28 minutes. He shot 10 of 17 from the field, 5 of 10 from three and 8 of 9 at the line, according to SNY. New York led 84-52 at halftime. As the Associated Press noted, that tied the franchise record for points in a first half, a mark first set in November 1988. The lead was big enough that Brunson sat for much of the second half, and all 14 available Knicks got into the game.

OG Anunoby scored 18 points, most of them at the free-throw line. SNY reported that he made all 10 of his early attempts and that his 11 made free throws in the first half tied his career best, even though a third foul cost him about five minutes before halftime. Karl-Anthony Towns had just one field-goal attempt by halftime. He opened the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, his eighth straight double-double.

Josh Hart sat out with a sore ankle, so Landry Shamet made his first start of the season. He scored New York's first four points and finished plus-21. The bench scored 53 points, its second straight game with at least 40. Dalton Knecht scored 10 in 13 minutes in his Knicks debut, and his step-back 3-pointer is the shot that tied the franchise first-half record. Jordan Clarkson also scored 10.

Chicago has now lost six straight and fell to 1-7, Yahoo Sports reported. New York has beaten the Bulls twice in the opening weeks, including a 133-127 win at Chicago.

What it means for Saturday at Cleveland

After losing three of their first four games, the Knicks have won four of five. ESPN's results show how much has changed. Over those five games New York is averaging 115 points and allowing about 103. In the first four, the Knicks averaged 104 points and allowed about 105. For the season they have now outscored opponents by 39 points, about 4.9 per game.

Saturday's game will test whether the improvement holds up on the road. New York is 3-2 at home but 1-2 away, and the only road win came at Chicago. Both road losses were close: 107-103 at Boston and 98-93 at Philadelphia. The next stop is Cleveland, with an 8 p.m. tip on NBA TV. The Knicks get a few days off before then, which gives Hart more time to rest his ankle. No update on his status had been reported as of Wednesday night.

The bench is the other thing to watch. With Hart out, coach-friendly depth has carried New York through two straight wins, with Shamet scoring 22 against Brooklyn and five reserves contributing against Chicago. Cleveland should be a tougher opponent than either the Nets or a Bulls team that has lost six in a row, so Saturday should show more about how good the Knicks are than Wednesday's blowout did.