Brandon Ingram scored 26 points, Zion Williamson had 24 and the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the New York Knicks 96-87 on Saturday night.
CJ McCollum added 12 points and Herbert Jones had 10 as the Pelicans won their home opener.
RJ Barrett scored 18 points, Jalen Brunson had 14, Julius Randle had 10 along with 12 rebounds and Immanuel Quickley scored 10 off the bench for the Knicks, who made just 7 of 37 3-pointers one night after making 20 of 44 in a 126-120 victory at Atlanta.
Mitchell Robinson had 15 rebounds and Josh Hart added 10 as New York enjoyed a 59-43 advantage on the boards. But that wasn’t nearly enough to slow down the Pelicans, who never trailed after tying the score at 2-2.
Brunson overcame a cold start to score seven points during a 19-8 run to open the third quarter that pulled the Knicks within 63-56 with 6:55 left in the period.
Williamson responded with three consecutive baskets, but New York got within six points on Hart’s 3-pointer later in the frame.
Ingram scored New Orleans’ final six points of the third and the Pelicans held a 77-68 heading into the fourth.
Jonas Valanciunas scored all eight of his points as New Orleans began the fourth quarter with a 10-1 run to take a commanding 87-69 lead.
Barrett’s layup produced the game’s first points, but the Pelicans followed with a 14-2 run to take a 10-point lead.
The Knicks got within six points, but Williamson later had back-to-back buckets to give New Orleans a 26-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
New York missed all eight of its 3-pointers in the first quarter and shot 6-for-22 from the floor in the period.
Matt Ryan and Jordan Hawkins made consecutive 3-pointers to help the Pelicans increase the lead to 19 points early in the second quarter.
Barrett made consecutive baskets to get the Knicks within 15 points, but the Pelicans kept their distance, and McCollum’s 3-pointer pushed New Orleans’ lead to 55-37 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
