It was a great battle of the forces of power, while Zion Williamson went on foot with Julius Randle.
But the game was decided by the backfield of the Knicks, Derrick Rose and Reggie Bullock, propelling the Knicks to a sixth straight victory, 122-112 in overtime, over the Pelicans to move their record to the highest. good season record of 31-27.
The Knicks rose from a six-point deficit at the end of 1:30 – capped by Rose who took the lead in the lane and had the means to beat a pass to Bullock, who drained the 3-point game from the left corner with 2.3 seconds left. The pelicans could have done Rose, but they might have thought it was easy for two.
“I thought about filming her at first, but I saw Reggie in the corner,” Rose said in the postgame interview in the field. “I delivered it on the spot and Reg is a great shooter.”
Rose blocked Eric Bledsoe at the buzzer to force overtime. Rose scored the first bucket of overtime on a drive plan, and Bullock hit a triple while the Knicks moved away and Williamson disappeared.
Rose finished with 23 points and five assists in the best game since his return from COVID-19. Bullock added 15 points (6-for-8 from the field) before fouling in OT.
“There was no lack of clarity,” said Stan Van Gundy, a pelicans coach who took Rose-Bullock’s latest regulation game into account. “I made two mistakes in the game. I cheated on the song. When we do that, we deserve to lose … I don’t care if you’re a senior in high school, you should do what you have to do with 7.8 seconds left. ”
In addition to not committing a foul, Van Gundy was referring to Lonzo Ball cheating on Bullock, leaving him open.
In his first NBA game in the field, Williamson recorded 34 points, while the Pelicans organized a comeback in the second half from 13 points down at the break and looked like they had won the rematch in the bag. But these Knicks never give up.
Williamson put on a show, hitting 13 of 23 baskets and a handful of leading slams. Williamson was looking to avenge a loss to the Knicks in New Orleans on Wednesday, where the Knicks took the ball out of their hands in the fourth quarter.
Randle, who went unscored in the first quarter, finished with 33 points, but shot just 11 of 28. He had 10 assists, but four turnovers. He scored 30 plus in four consecutive games and hit a 3-pointer late in overtime to give the Knicks an eight-point lead to seal the win.
RJ Barrett missed with 4:07 left after Williamson took an offensive conundrum and Barrett pulled him down. Williamson was injured in the game, but still executed free throws before coming out of the game short. Barrett, ahead of his former friend Duke, scored 18 points, but made six turnovers.