The Knicks pulled out a 123-114 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night at the Moda Center.

Here are some takeaways...

- Josh Hart showed no signs of rust in his return following an eight-game absence due to an ankle injury. The forward drilled a three on the Knicks' second possession of the game, and knocked down three of his first four shots for eight early points. He played the first 4:08 seconds before being subbed out for Miles McBride.

- It wasn't just Hart, though, as New York got off to a strong offensive start as a team. They shot 54 percent from the field in the first but were struggling with Portland's athleticism on the other end, and after leading by as many as seven points, things were knotted up at 34 apiece at the end of the quarter.

The Knicks were a bit sloppy, turning the ball over four times, leading to 12 Blazer fastbreak points.

- Hart added four more points in the second quarter, but it was Karl-Anthony Towns who led the way for the Knicks. The big man had a bit of an injury scare but enjoyed a tremendous first half, producing 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting while reeling in seven boards, dishing three assists, and blocking two shots.

- Jalen Brunson had 11 points of his own, OG Anunoby 10, and Mitchell Robinson chipped in six, while McBride had an uncharacteristically slow start, missing his first six shots (five threes). New York struggled to slow down Shaedon Sharpe (14), Deni Avdija (13), and Caleb Love (11) on the other end, but still held a five-point advantage at the break.

- The Knicks came out of the locker room with energy, going on a 7-2 run thanks to Towns and Brunson. The big man drilled his second three of the night and Brunson put home a pair of lay-ins to help push the lead up to double digits for the first time in the game in the opening minutes of the second half.

Hart made his presence felt again, diving on the floor for one of his signature hustle plays to spark a Brunson fastbreak.

- Poor offense and defense let Portland right back into this one, though. The lead was cut back down to five heading into the fourth quarter, and just minutes into the frame, the Blazers were able to even things up on a Robert Williams III slam, then Avdija's lay-in plus the foul gave them the lead.

- Brunson was forced off the bench earlier than usual and quickly helped regain the lead. The teams traded buckets before the Knicks knocked down four straight clutch buckets to push the lead back to double digits. Anunoby drilled a pair of threes, McBride knocked down his first of the night, and Hart had a fastbreak lay-in.

Portland got the deficit back down to five, but New York was able to hold on for the much-needed victory.

- Hart played 31 minutes in his return from injury. He had 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, dished six assists, pulled in three boards, had a pair of steals, and one block. New York is now an impressive 20-9 when the 30-year-old forward is in the lineup this season.

Brunson led all scorers with 26 points to go along with six rebounds and eight assists, Anunoby had 24 points, including two of the biggest threes of the game and seven boards, Towns chipped in 20 points and 11 rebounds. Robinson made his presence felt off the bench with 11 rebounds of his own.

New York attempted just eight free throws on the night, to Portland's 25.

Game MVP: OG Anunoby

Anunoby's clutch threes helped put this one away late in a back-and-forth fourth quarter.

Here are some takeaways...

Game MVP: OG Anunoby

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