NBA – Fifth consecutive victory for New York, never led and thus easy winner of a very sad New Orleans team, without solution on both sides of the field and beaten for the third time in a row (128-106).
A one-way match, therefore, very quickly became a blowout : +16 after the first quarter (42-26), +21 at halftime (73-52), then +27 in the third quarter then even up to +32 in the last act, which amounted to a long and painful “garbage time” for the Pelicans.
Uninspired in attack (8/38 from 3-pointers, in particular), like the very sluggish evening of CJ McCollum et Brandon Ingram (32 points at 13/41), Willie Green’s men clearly did not do better in defense, leaving the Knicks to shoot at 52%, including 40% behind the arc (19/48), under the impetus in particular of a very good trio Jalen Brunson (20 points et 5 passes) – Julius Randle (28 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) – RJ Barrett (25 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists), and thus took a fairly logical big slap.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Knicks celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their last title. Indeed, at half-time of the match, the club celebrated the 50th anniversary of its second title, acquired in 1973. For the occasion, the famous journalist and presenter Ahmad Rashad presented six legendary players from this champion team: Walt Frazier obviously, but also Jerry Lucas, Dick Barnett, Earl Monroe, Henry Bibby and Bill Bradley. And as a symbol, the current Knicks were pointing to… 73 points scored at the break, just before the small ceremony.
– RJ Barrett’s awakening? In great delicacy with his shooting throughout the month of February, the Canadian winger managed, for the first time in weeks, to chain the baskets with consistency against the horrible defense of the Pelicans: 25 points at 8/13 to shots, including 4/7 from behind the arc. Perhaps the performance that will get him out of the bad patch he’s been stuck in for a few weeks now.
– Ankle alert for Larry Nance Jr. Short outing on the boards of Madison Square Garden for the strong winger of the Pelicans: only 5 short minutes in the first quarter then curtain. The fault of an ankle which turned on a rebound battle against Immanuel Quickley. His case is certainly to be monitored on a daily basis for the medical staff, but it would not be surprising if he missed a few matches in the coming days.
– Pelicans flapping. For the polished version. For the more raw and realistic version: the Pelicans delivered a rather shameful match in the desire, the effort and the concentration on both sides of the field. Yet opposed to the Knicks in “back-to-back”, CJ McCollum and his teammates were abused by a team from New York who had come to play basketball. With three defeats in a row and a balance sheet turned negative, the Pelicans are in great difficulty and must quickly wake up, on pain of slipping in the standings in the West.
– Even Derrick Rose played!
The beating was of such magnitude that in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, Tom Thibodeau brought in Derrick Rose, greeted by thunderous applause from a Madison Square Garden audience ready to explode at the first basket. A basket that never came, despite four attempts by the veteran point guard from New York. But the sequence was nice, and came to punctuate a perfect evening for the residents of the “MSG” and their spectators.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jalen Brunson et Julius Randle. Nothing to report for the two bosses of the Knicks, still very sharp at the head of the attack of their team, who did great damage in this area against a very permissive defense. In total, 48 points and 10 assists for “JB” and “Ju”. A normal day at the office for them.
✅ Immanuel Quickley. Even if in reality the entire rotation of the Knicks deserves to be congratulated as the success has been collectively built, we dwell on the performance of the sixth man, sparkling in his role as a spark: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 counters, and a +18 to the +/-.
⛔️ CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram. The sinking was certainly collective, but we hit particularly (and unfairly, perhaps) on the fingers of the two offensive leaders, clearly not in their best light. In particular, decision-making in attack left much to be desired, not to mention defensive investment. With such a low level of its two best players, the Pelicans could not hope for anything.
THE FOLLOWING
– Knicks (35-27) : reception of the Knicks, on the night of Monday to Tuesday (01:30).
– Pelicans (30-31) : reception of the Magic, on the night of Monday to Tuesday (02:00).
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