Two teams with palindromic records squared off at Madison Square Garden tonight. One team sits three slots down from the top of their conference, while the other is five up from the bottom of theirs. The distance between the clubs is misleading, though. With Zion Williamson sporting the physique of a Marvel hero, Dejounte Murray finally back from injury, and Jordan Poole riding the pine, the Pelicans (25-48) are a much more dangerous team than their statistics suggest. After the home team piled on a 14-point
first-half lead, tonight’s contest swung back and forth and stayed close until late in the final frame. Thanks to Captain Clutch dropping 15 in the fourth, the Knicks (48*-25) escaped the Birds, 121-116, and extended their win streak to seven. Good times in Gotham!
With two Knicks turnovers in the first three minutes, the game got off to a choppy start. The Pels took an early lead. Zion Williamson (22 PTS) drew multiple defenders on the offensive end and did a good job of harassing Jalen Brunson (32 PTS, 7 AST) on at least one possession. Dejounte Murray (7 PTS, 12 AST), playing just his 11th game back since returning from a torn Achilles tendon, did an adequate job guarding Brunson, too. NOLA might have the league’s 24th-ranked defense, but they’re ninth for steals, and the Knicks seemed surprised by their aggression.
Early on, OG Anunoby (21 PTS, 3 STL, 5-13 3PT) drove New York’s offense with an array of scores (a threeball, a dunk, free throws). New Orleans did a slightly better job of spreading the love, though, with Saddiq Bey (18 PTS) and Herbert Jones (13 PTS, 6 AST) combining for 11 of their 16-14 lead midway through the frame.
Around the 5:30 mark, coach Mike Brown subbed in Jordan Clarkson (10 PTS, 5 AST) and Mitchell Robinson (11 PTS, 8 RBS) for Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns (your NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for February). In a little over a minute, the trusty reserves connected for an alley-oop and grabbed three boards between them, helping to give New York its first lead of the game. Soon after, Clarkson jumped the passing lane for a pick-six, then tossed another alley-oop to Mitch. With three pointers from Brunson and Anunoby, the Knicks completed a 20-point turnaround to take a 42-28 lead into the second quarter.
Our heroes fell prey to overconfidence, missing seven shots and turning the ball over thrice while rookie Jeremiah Fears (21 PTS, 2 STL, 20 MIN) sparked a 21-6 run for the Birds. Jones and Karlo Matković (12 PTS) helped, too. New York didn’t get a bucket until Mikal Bridges (14 PTS, 7 AST) hit an 11-footer at the 6:41 mark. The Knicks fell behind but reclaimed a slim lead when Anunoby drilled his fourth three-pointer of the half with five minutes to go.
Bridges stepped out of the shadows for a pair of big buckets and an assist to lead a rally that gave the Knicks a seven-point lead with 40 seconds left. Then Murray grabbed a Towns (21 PTS, 14 RBS) miss and dished an alley-oop to Trey Murphy that cut the half-time score to 66-60.
Despite their awful start to Q2, the Knicks were in control at intermission because they’d been cleaner, more efficient, and better on the glass. They shot 57% overall and 53% (10-of-19) from downtown, and had a 21-15 rebounding edge. Their defense could have been better, as evidenced by New Orleans making 51% from the field and 47% from yard and committing just four turnovers. Anunoby led the first-half scoring with 18, and Jones logged 11 for the guests.
James Borrego’s club came out of halftime with a mandate to better incorporate Williamson and Murphy. Leading a rally that reclaimed the lead, Zion was a bull with frequent drives and trips to the line. Trey added eight points in the period, including a pair of deep threes, and Murray steered the ship, distributing dimes and initiating action.
For the Knicks, Towns kept things steady inside, scoring (putback dunk, hook shot, layup, free throw) and cleaning the glass. Anunoby and Mikal Bridges hit big threes, and Brunson was active but inefficient with several misses. Josh Hart (10 PTS, 8 RBS) did his usual dirty work (rebounds, a mid-range jumper). But if the Knicks planned to win, the battles would be fought at the rim. Fittingly, an alley-oop toss from Brunson to Robinson gave our heroes a one-point lead at the quarter’s conclusion.
Perhaps sensing that more length was needed, Coach Brown fielded Mohamed Diawara to start the fourth quarter. His driving finger-roll past three defenders was the first bucket of the period, and the rookie found Towns on the next possession for a three-pointer. I cannot wait to watch this kid develop.
With the Knicks holding onto a four-point lead, rookie Derik Queen violated Hart’s landing space on a three-point shot. Josh missed it, but the foul preserved his streak of nine-straight makes, and he canned the three freebies. No lead was safe tonight, though. Back-to-back buckets by Jones and Fears cut the differential to three with plenty of time remaining. Fears, an Oklahoma alum and the seventh pick in the draft, showed a lot of promise off the bench. NOLA might have something there.
One strategy change was to have Bridges bring the ball up the court and let Brunson conserve some energy. The coach’s adjustment yielded dividends, with Brunson scoring the Knicks next six points. Still, they had no answer for the 19-year-old Fears, as the young dynamo scored five points, stole the ball from Bridges, and fired an assist to Bey on a breakaway. Two-point game with four-and-a-half left.
After Captain Clutch added two more buckets, Bey hit free throws, and Hart and Zion cancelled each other out, the score was 115-111 with 1:41 to go. With every point counting, Jones mouthed off to the ref over a foul on Brunson and gifted the Knicks a technical. Brunson cashed in the three-bies for a seven-point advantage.
A Zion and-one, a missed Hart free-throw, and a Murphy layup made it a three-point game with 17 seconds left. Borrego’s bunch stopped the clock with a take foul on Brunson. He made both to seal the win.
Quoth foiegrastyle, “Mitch and Zion talkin food I know it.” I can only imagine the sundy and sordid topics about which those two cowboys might have been conversing. Someone please pitch Hula a Zion-Mitch reality show that follows them on cross-country excursions. That’s an Emmy-award-winning idea, right there.
Up Next
New York has nine games left before the playoffs. They visit Charlotte (yeah, yeah, I double-checked) on Thursday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but NBA Cups double as dunce caps.
