Knicks come back from 14-point deficit, beat Pelicans behind Jalen Brunson's 39 points
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) moves the ball around New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. Credit: AP/Gerald Herbert
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Pelicans, shorthanded and struggling to survive with 20 losses in their last 22 games, came into the night with a goal — contain Jalen Brunson and cut off the head of the snake for the Knicks.
It’s a good idea in theory, and for much of the night, it seemed as if it were something they might be able to execute. Their procession of long-armed defenders doubled him, harassed him and worked to get the ball out of his hands.
With the Knicks trailing by 13 points in the third quarter, however, it was clear that Brunson had had enough of this nonsense, scoring their next 13 points. Others joined in after that, and the Knicks escaped with a 104-93 win at the Smoothie King Center. And as the final minutes wore down, the ‘’MVP!’’ chants for Brunson reverberated through the building.
Brunson scored 16 of his season-high 39 points in the third quarter, shooting 6-for-8 after attempting only six shots in the first half.
While that helped give the Knicks a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, he passed on his usual rest, remaining on the floor as the Knicks took control in the final period. He didn’t go to the bench until the game was safely decided with a 14-point lead and just over five minutes to play — and then got less than two minutes of rest before being reinserted.
Brunson scored 29 of the Knicks’ 59 points in the second half. He shot 13-for-19, including 7-for-10 from three-point range, as the Knicks (18-10) earned their 13th win in the last 17 games.
“The ball kept going through the hoop,” he said. “I was just a tad more aggressive at that time. Just a credit to everyone, getting stops, running the floor, getting to space, and made a run.
“They were being aggressive, pressuring, but I had a couple of turnovers early. I think I had three in the first half. I was able to truly understand what was going on and just be smart. I allowed myself to be me and not get sped up.”
“I mean, c’mon,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “That’s Cap, that’s Cap. You know how I feel about him. One of the most talented players in this league regardless of position. He went out there and did what he does best. He was fantastic today.”
The game marked the first of a stretch of seven games in which five of the games are against the four worst teams in the NBA this season — and even the other two are the barely-above-.500 Spurs and the injury-depleted Magic.
The last time the Knicks faced New Orleans, they opened a 23-point advantage after one quarter — surrendering only 10 points — and built the gap to as many as 41 points as they coasted to the win.
“We definitely learned from it,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “We’re just not in position where we can flush games like that. I thought we came out with the right intentions, not a good first half at all.
“Offensively, they made shots; that’s what they’re capable of doing. They’re capable of making tough shots. Second half got better for us offensively. But with a team like that, you can’t get down that many points and expect to recover that quickly. Give them credit, they’re a really good team.”
The Pelicans (5-24) again were shorthanded on this night — no Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jose Alvarado or Daniel Theis — but the performance was far different.
If the Knicks have learned anything, it’s that they cannot take any opponent for granted — or at least that’s what coach Tom Thibodeau has preached for nearly every day of his coaching career.
The Pelicans, even with the missing pieces, still put out a starting five with long, versatile defenders — starting with Herb Jones harassing Brunson and double-teams coming at him with every screen. The Knicks also were hampered by early foul trouble for Towns, who was limited to 10 minutes in the first half and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
After a sluggish first quarter in which the Knicks managed a 28-28 tie, the Pelicans began the second period with a 9-0 run as the Knicks misfired on their first seven shots. New Orleans went ahead by 13 before the Knicks closed the gap to 49-45 at the half, but the Pelicans took a 14-point lead early in the third quarter.
“We just knew we had to play better,” said Josh Hart, who returned to the lineup after missing the last game because of personal reasons. “I don’t think it was anything said at halftime because we got outscored by like nine before we started playing.
“We knew what we had to do. Just our pressure, we kind of picked the pace up a little bit — pressured defensively and picked the pace up. JB obviously started knocking down shots and we started getting into it. That kind of changed the tide.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
