Jalen Brunson scored 44 points despite missing part of the third quarter with an apparent injury, and the New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 140-106 on Sunday.

The Knicks hit the regular season’s midway point with a 26-15 record and in third place in the East, but have lost five of their past seven games.

Behind Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns had a 30-point, 18-rebound double-double while Josh Hart joined him in a serendipitous tally with 11 each in the same categories. Cameron Payne made the most of 14 minutes off the bench, earning 18 points through a 4-of-7 output from three-point range.

Coming off of a dominant showing against the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks are set for a matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. Heading int

But as Knicks fans are aware, sometimes all that smack-talking can backfire. In the closing moments of Monday night’s game, Detroit Pistons shooting guard Malik Beasley received that New York love from a fan.

Malik Beasley drained two 3-pointers in the final minute Monday night to put the game away for the visiting Detroit Pistons, who held off a fourth-quarter rally by the New York Knicks to earn a 124-119 win.