Jalen Brunson's outstanding second half leads Knicks to an 11-point win
The Pelicans frustrated the Knicks in the first half, playing tough defensively and not letting the Knicks get into any rhythm. But Jalen Brunson had an outstanding second half, scoring 29 points after intermission, to carry the Knicks to a 104-93 victory Saturday night in New Orleans. It was the third straight road win for the Knicks, who have won eight of their last 10 games and sit at 18-10 overall.
The undermanned Pelicans made up for what they missing with a tough, physical defensive effort, one that caused the Knicks to commit six turnovers in the first quarter. And in addition to the turnovers, Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his third foul in the first minute of the second quarter and sat for the remainder of the half.
The Pelicans opened up a 14-point lead in the second quarter but the Knicks came back, cutting the deficit to four points at halftime. But it was a tough first half for New York as it shot 35.6% overall and 28.6% from behind the arc in the opening 24 minutes.
New Orleans once again extended to a 14-point lead in the third quarter. And then Brunson took over, scoring 13-straight points for the Knicks, bringing it to a four-point game. Mikal Bridges broke the Brunson streak and Towns hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one.
And then Brunson hit another three to give the Knicks the lead, one they’d maintain the rest of the way.
Brunson was so dominating in the third quarter that he came out on the floor to start the fourth, a time where he usually gets a blow. He assisted on a three by Bridges, hit two free throw and then made a layup, pushing the Knicks to a 10-point lead.
At the 5:20 mark of the fourth quarter, Brunson got his first break of the second half, with the Knicks up 14. The Pelicans went on a 6-2 run, forcing the Knicks to call a timeout at 3:29 to put Brunson back in the game. The Knicks settled back down and Brunson scored his final points with two from the line.
Brunson finished with 39 points on 13-19 shooting overall and 7-10 from behind the arc.
Bridges finished with 18 points while Josh Hart had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Towns had a relatively quiet night yet still finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Knicks return home and face the Raptors on Monday night and then host the Spurs for a noon start on Christmas day.