Wednesday night’s game in the Big Easy was a clash of styles: the New Orleans Pelicans can score with the best of them, while the New York Knicks like to earn their defense. For three quarters it was a kind of play by the Pelicans … but the Knicks gained a four-point lead thanks to some majesty of their own.
When the fourth quarter arrived, New York put the game away with their patented formula for late games: no one in either team can score except for Alec Burks, who is raining all over the field. Burks in the fourth quarter arrived just in time for the Knicks on Wednesday, scoring 14 of New York’s 23 points in the period. Burks damn the Pelicans almost as a team; they could only get 17 points.
Burks can sometimes be a frustrating player to watch, and I never want to see him run a quick break again, but he was a valuable addition to the Knicks, especially late in the game.
Let’s also shout Julius Randle, who picked up a 4-15 shooting performance in the first half to lead all scorers by 32 points.
This is the first series of the Knicks’ four winning games of the season, so let’s enjoy it. Summary to come.