NEW YORK, Feb. 26 (BNA): Julius Randle scored 28 points to lead New York to a 128-106 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night as the Knicks celebrated the golden anniversary of their 1972-73 NBA championship team.
Six players scored double-digit points for New York, who won for the fifth time in a row. RJ Barrett scored 25 points and had seven assists on the season. Jalen Bronson added 20 points, Josh Hart scored 15, Emmanuel Kwikley added 13 and Mitchell Robinson finished the double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, the Associated Press reports.
“It’s a team, on any given night it’s going to be different,” Barrett said when asked if the 2022-23 Knicks were emulating their 1972-73 predecessors by playing unselfish basketball. “We did a great job sharing the ball. Everyone kind of played a great game.”
Brandon Ingram scored 19 points for the Pelicans, who lost their third straight and fourth in five games overall. Josh Richardson added 16 points, CJ McCollum finished with 13 and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Trey Murphy III scored 11 goals off the bench.
“We have to be better and I have to hold our guys more accountable,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “That standard we played tonight is not us.”
New York was playing the second half of a back-to-back game, coming off a 115-109 win over the Wizards the night before in Washington. Meanwhile, the Pelicans last played Thursday, losing 115-110 to the Raptors in Toronto.
The Knicks came out looking like the freshest team, going 42-26 after the first quarter, and extending the lead to 73-52 at halftime.
Randle (19), Barrett (13), and Bronson (12) combined for 44 points as New York shot 54.3% from the field (25-for-46) and 50% from 3-point distance (13-for-26). New York’s 13 first-half three-pointers tied it, a season-high.
“I got off to a good start and kept it up,” said Randall.
The Pelicans trailed by as much as 27 points midway through third. Despite going 19-12 to close the period, New Orleans trailed 102-82 entering fourth.
New York opened the fourth with a 12-8 lead, highlighted by Robinson’s one-handed Alley Dunk. Randle’s two-handed dunk on a Quickley pass off the backboard all ended any Pelicans comeback hopes.
New Orleans lost backup forward Larry Nance Jr. in the second quarter with a left ankle injury. no longer. Nance was defending Quickley and landed awkwardly while trying to intercept a layup. Nance was on the court for a few minutes and had to be helped into the locker room.
hints:
Pelicans: Here’s what Green knows: He and his star team, Zion Williamson, will both return from a right hamstring injury sometime this season.
Green and his team believe Williamson’s return will happen before the playoffs even begin. What is not known is how Williamson will be returned to the roster. “Once we (we know) he’s ready, that’s something that (Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin and) our performance team and (medical staff) and coaches sit down and talk about the best plan,” Green said. Going into the game, the Pelicans have lost 17 of their 24 games played in 2023 without Williamson in the lineup.
Knicks: Throughout the game, the Knicks honored their 1972-1973 championship team with video testimonials and a halftime ceremony. And perhaps no one at Madison Square Garden could appreciate this team more than Tom Thibodeau, who grew up in Connecticut rooting for the Knicks. “This was a great team,” Thibodeau said during his pre-match press conference. “They were so unselfish. They played great defense. That was a fun team but that’s what they embodied and how they played for each other. I think it resonated with the city.”
the next
Pelicans: Host Orlando on Monday.
Knicks: Boston hosts on Monday.
Rial