Ailing Knicks Show Hart But Fall to Pelicans

Reduced to seven men again, the New York Knicks lingered in an interconference showdown with the New Orleans Pelicans before falling short.

The New York Knicks' medical hardships continued against the Big Easy.

Once again reduced to seven men, the Knicks put forth a spirited effort but were unable to steal an interconference showdown from the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, falling by a 115-92 final at Madison Square Garden.

Monday hero Josh Hart had another double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) while Donte DiVincenzo (23 points) led the way in scoring next to Bojan Bogdanovic (20) off the bench. DiVincenzo went 8-of-18 with an extra point on the line, becoming just the second Knick in franchise history to try at least 18 triples (JR Smith, 2014). 

Further burdened with the losses of Jalen Brunson (neck) and Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles) to pair with the indefinitely sidelined OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, the Knicks forced New Orleans into a full 48-minute effort thanks to a strong defensive effort that proved too taxing to keep up in the second half after trailing by only one at halftime.

While frustrated by the pesky Knicks, New Orleans (35-24) got back in the win column after consecutive losses and also secured its first sweep of the yearly couple against New York since 2016-17. The Knicks were held to double-figures in each of the two losses, the first coming on the bayou in October. 

The slim halftime advantage lay long forgotten thanks to a 41-25 shellacking over the final dozen. Trey Murphy led the way for the Pelicans with 26 points primarily built on a 6-of-11 effort from three while Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones hit three triples each.

The Knicks (35-24) will look to close February on a high note when they face the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).