Brandon Ingram continued his hot play by scoring a game-high 28 points Friday night for the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, who pulled away in the second half for a 123-111 win over the New York Knicks.
The Pelicans who have won eight of 11 since Dec. 18, when they snapped a franchise-record 13-game losing streak. The Knicks have lost five straight -- their second losing streak of at least five games this season.
Ingram has scored at least 25 points in seven of his past 11 games. He added nine assists and six rebounds Friday.
Jaxson Hayes (18 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double for the Pelicans and went 7-for-8 from the field, missing only his last attempt. Lonzo Ball contributed 15 points and 11 assists while Josh Hart produced 13 points and 10 rebounds. JJ Redick added 12 points and E'Twaun Moore had 11.
Taj Gibson scored 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field for the Knicks, who had all five starters score in double figures. RJ Barrett had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Reggie Bullock and Elfrid Payton each had 15 points, Bobby Portis finished with 13 points, and Mitchell Robinson added 12 points off the bench.
The Pelicans and Knicks were tied five times in the first quarter, during which neither team led by more than five points.
The Knicks took their final lead at 39-38 on a Kevin Knox 3-pointer with 9:55 left in the second quarter, after which the Pelicans scored eight points in a 75-second span. That began a 15-4 run during which Moore and Nickell Alexander-Walker had five points apiece as New Orleans opened its first double-digit lead.
The Pelicans led 67-61 at the half before the Knicks scored the first five points of the third quarter. New York pulled within one point once more, on a basket by Gibson with 9:54 left in the third, but soon after, Redick scored the first five points of a 9-0 run that opened the lead back to 11 for New Orleans.
The Pelicans led by 11 four times in the third quarter and opened up a double-digit lead for good at 100-89 on Hayes' dunk with 10:09 left in the fourth. New Orleans led by as many as 18 in the final period.
--Field Level Media
New Orleans | New York | |
Brandon Ingram 28 | Scoring | Taj Gibson 19 |
Lonzo Ball 11 | Assists | Elfrid Payton 7 |
Josh Hart 10 | Rebounds | RJ Barrett 9 |
Jaxson Hayes 4 | Free Throws Made | RJ Barrett 5 |
Derrick Favors 2 | Steals | Elfrid Payton 5 |
Jaxson Hayes 2 | Blocks | Taj Gibson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New Orleans | 123 | 55.8 | 18-38 | 9-17 | 35 | 43 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
New York | 111 | 46.0 | 5-27 | 14-20 | 26 | 46 | 1 | 13 | 13 |