Denied singles at the foul line, Jalen Brunson went for triples that served as the spark to a New York Knicks comeback.
Thanks to Brunson’s prowess from deep, the Knicks completed a clean sweep of a three-game road trip with a 104-93 comeback victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night at Smoothie King Center. Brunson’s latest mastery proved historic: with a season-best 39 points, Brunson earned his 62nd Knick game with at least 30, breaking a tie with Walt “Clyde” Frazier for eighth-most in franchise history.
New York’s 13th win over its last 17 games did not come easy despite the relatively one-sided nature of the final score: the depleted Pelicans led by 14 with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter but that gave way to a Brunson breakout, featuring 29 points in the second half alone, rendering a first 24 where they scored only 45 as a team long forgotten. The comeback win from 14 points down is also the largest earned so far this season.
Though not as depleted as they were when they faced the Knicks at Madison Square Garden earlier this month (a game that saw New York lead by as much as 41), the Pelicans were still missing franchise faces Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. That didn’t stop them from establishing an early lead, one enforced via physical defense (which forced the Knicks into shooting 6-of-25 in the second period) and foul trouble for Karl-Anthony Towns, who was charged with three by the halftime horn…