Jalen Brunson leaves Knicks late again in sloppy win over Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS — When the game is on the line, the Knicks find a way.

It’s now part of their identity — forged on the back of Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson — and the Knicks did it again Monday in a 130-125 win that was sloppy, but still a win nonetheless.

Brunson and Miles McBride carried New York down the stretch, combining for 11 of the team’s 13 points in the final 2.5 minutes. More specific to their clutch heroics, Brunson connected on two drives in the last 66 seconds, and McBride closed the game from the line with four straight free throws.

The struggling Pelicans (8-26) still had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds while trailing by three, but Jordan Poole tried to draw a foul and jack up a terrible trey that barely touched the top of the backboard. No border.

The Knicks (23-9) won for the 15th time in their past 18 games, a streak that also included the NBA Cup championship.

“We’ll find a way to win,” Brunson said. “I think as a team we have growing confidence, not necessarily just in the fourth quarter. We understand how we started.” [Monday] was unacceptable. And we had to figure out how to win a game from where we were. So we gained a lot of trust in each other. But we have to start better. And we had to play more fairly throughout the match. But we found a way to win.”

Brunson’s heroics and Poole’s blunder spoiled an excellent night for Zion Williamson, who had 32 points in 29 minutes for New Orleans. But it is difficult to win a close game against the Knicks, who operate with confidence, composure and belief in moments under pressure.

Brunson played just six minutes in the fourth quarter and scored 10 of his team-high 28 points during that stretch. He also finished with 10 assists. OG Anunoby added 23 points.

McBride, returning from a nine-game absence due to a sprained ankle, scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. He made a pair of foul shots to put the Knicks up with 3 seconds left and five with 5.5 seconds left.

“Honestly, just my faith,” McBride said of his mentality on the line. “I prepare for these moments. And I trust God and the preparation and just go out there and do my best.”

With about four minutes to go there was a moment of controversy, when Karl-Anthony Towns and Yves Missi battled for a rebound and the ball bounced over the baseline. The officials denied this for the Pelicans, but a long delay in play – apparently due to a faulty horn – gave the Pelicans enough time to see and challenge the replay on the Jumbotron.

The Knicks players and coaches were outraged by the stall, but it didn’t matter. The call was overturned after the challenge, Towns was fouled and Pelicans got the ball in a tie game.

Interestingly enough, this happened in the same arena where the Pelicans were whistled for a postponement of the game against the Knicks last season because a ball boy started wiping a non-existent wet spot on the court. The reason last season was obvious: so that the home team would have more time to decide whether to challenge.

This time the delay was a glitch in the arena.

“I don’t know this rule. They said because the horn suddenly didn’t work, it was a stoppage of play and because it was a stoppage of play that doesn’t count toward the 30 seconds or whatever you get for a challenge,” coach Mike Brown said. “The horn failure came at the right time for them.

Suspicious?

“Very, very, very suspicious,” Brown said. “I hope I don’t get fined for that.”

On the next possession, New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III hit a 3-pointer. The momentum stayed with the Pelicans until Brunson took control. As usual, the Knicks came up big when it mattered most, despite an effort littered with sloppiness.

Defense was a problem all night for the Knicks, who allowed 75 points in the first half. Saddiq Bey left 26 points behind at halftime. Williamson turned up his aggressiveness in the second quarter, attacking the paint and forcing Towns into foul trouble. Williamson had 18 points and five rebounds in the first half.

The Knicks were terrible. And then, as usual, they had crunch time. Give them a close enough game and Brunson will take them home.

“You gotta have a man. And when I talk about a man, I’m talking about a league MVP and we have ONE MAN,” Brown said. “He definitely makes the game easier for everyone.”