It was anything but a Big Easy, but the New York Knicks found a way to prevail through familiar means on Tuesday night.
Jalen Brunson put up nearly half of another triple-decade performance in crunch time while Karl-Anthony Towns pulled in another double-double as the Knicks took a 121-116 decision from the New Orleans Pelicans at Madison Square Garden.
Reigning Clutch Player of the Year Brunson once again lived up to his reputation, scoring 15 fourth-period points on perfect outputs on singles (7-of-7) and doubles (4-of-4). Each of those tallies came over the last seven-plus minutes, which saw the Knicks nurse a lead that couldn’t expand past seven but nonetheless proved lasting.
Towns accompanied 21 points with 14 rebounds, his own tallies matched by OG Anunoby, who united to hit nine of the Knicks’ 13 threes with Mikal Bridges. Mitchell Robinson fell two rebounds short of a double-double after hitting 5-of-5 off the bench, while Jordan Clarkson paired 10 points with five assists.
Facing yet another trap game, their fourth straight against a team not stationed in its conference’s top six, the Knicks seemingly had business settled early after jumping out to a 42-28 lead after a dozen minutes.
A surge in the second from lottery rookie Jeremiah Fears pushed them back on their heels, as a 21-4 run to open the second set the tone for the rest of the game. A Robinson dunk, earned alley-oop style from Bridges, got the crowd back into it and gave the Knicks a six-point lead at the break.
With similar antics in the story for the third (featuring six ties before another Robinson alley, this one from Brunson, gave the Knicks a slim lead), New York built a solid enough foundation for Brunson before his re-entry.
A Towns’ three and a trio of Josh Hart free throws (earned via Derik Queen’s flagrant) created a seven-point lead before 10 consecutive individual scores put out the New Orleans rallies. Further consistency from the captain came after one last Pels push, as he hit consecutive doubles that turned a three-point lead into seven and forced a visitors’ timeout.
The Knicks (48-25) now have their second-longest winning streak of the year at seven games, the last five coming within Empire State borders. New York also moved into an essential tie for second place in the Eastern Conference bracket with idle Boston (five games behind leader Detroit), though the Celtics have two games in hand. The Knicks will own the tiebreaker no matter what due to a better divisional ledger.
Tuesday marked the first time that the Knicks and Pelicans (25-48) did business since a trade deadline deal sent Jose Alvarado to Manhattan. Zion Williamson scored 22 for New Orleans, which also enjoyed a 21-point relief effort from Fears. The Knicks swept the year’s interconference couple for the second straight season, winning both games by five-point margins.
Having swept this de facto five-legged homestand, the Knicks now embark on a four-part road trip beginning with a Thursday visit to Charlotte (7 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).
