Jalen Brunson pours in 55 points to lead Knicks to gritty win over lowly Wizards

WASHINGTON — For most of four quarters, the Knicks played with their food. They allowed themselves to enter a danger zone against the tanking Wizards, the worst team in the East, and entered their first overtime of the season because legs were tired and their defense devolved into a porous mess.

So what should’ve been an easy evening turned into a dogfight for the Knicks, who required Jalen Brunson to morph into hero mode and drop 55 points to squeak out Saturday’s 136-132 OT win.

Brunson was a machine and did it unconventionally by today’s NBA standards, needing just three 3-pointers to reach his double-nickel.

He dropped 28 points in the paint, scored 42 overall after halftime, knocked down 16 free throws and collected nine assists, and the Knicks (22-10) needed all of it.

“It just happened,” Brunson said. “That’s the way the game was flowing. I looked up at the scoreboard, and it says 50-something.”

Saturday represented New York’s seventh straight victory and also its most unnecessarily dramatic. The Wizards are young and feisty and were led with 31 points from Justin Champagnie, the brother of former St. John’s star Julian Champagnie.

But the Knicks also were visibly lagging on the second night of a back-to-back. They were outrebounded, outhustled and lucky to escape Capital One Arena with their winning streak intact.

Brunson almost single-handedly carried them to a comeback at the end of regulation.

With the Knicks trailing by five with 57 seconds left, the point guard converted an and-1 off a series of misdirection dribbles in the lane.

On the following New York possession, Brunson pulled off a similar move for the tying floater with 11 seconds remaining.

It compelled overtime, which was also nip and tuck but survived by the Knicks because they nailed clutch free throws.

Through it all, the Wizards rarely attempted to double-team Brunson. He wandered freely and punished the opposition.

“If you do double me, I have the utmost confidence in my teammates that they’ll knock down open shots,” Brunson said. “So whatever the defense is, we’re going to adapt and … find a way.”

On Saturday, the way to averting a terrible loss was through Brunson. But the box score explained the physical toll it took on everybody.

Karl-Anthony Towns logged 44 minutes with 30 points and 14 rebounds. He was Brunson’s best support on offense. Mikal Bridges played 47 minutes. Anunoby turned in 42 minutes.

It should’ve been good fortune to face the Wizards, who started two teenagers, a 20-year-old, and were missing their two top scorers because of injuries.

DNPs are plaguing the NBA. In three of New York’s past five games, the opponent didn’t have its best two players — New Orleans (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram), Orlando (Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner) and Washington (Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole).

But that hasn’t been a problem for the Knicks, whose starters have missed just three games combined. Brunson was listed as questionable with a sore calf for Saturday, but predictably suited up.

And the Knicks were lucky he did.

“This one was a tough one for us,” said Josh Hart, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes. “We were playing the second night of a back-to-back. I felt a little old today.

“A lot of us felt the same way. We were a little slow. But (Brunson) made big shots. That’s why he’s the captain. Find a way to win.”