Jordan Clarkson energized the Knicks in the 1st quarter — catapulting them from a 5-pt deficit to a 14-pt lead — and Jalen Brunson led NY in the 4th, enabling them to edge the Pelicans 121-116 on a Tuesday night in NYC.
Brunson scored 10 straight points for NY midway through the 4th quarter (and 15 in the quarter overall) — including back-to-back buckets to push the Pelicans back after they had pulled to within 109-107 with 4.5 minutes left.
Brunson finished with 32 pts on 11-19 shooting (2-4 from 3); Clarkson had 10 pts on 4-6 shooting and a +11 in 21 minutes off the bench. OG Anunoby had 21 pts and played Great D. Karl-Anthony Towns also had 21 pts and 14 rebounds.
Zion Williamson led New Orleans with 22 pts on 8-10 shooting, while Jeremiah Fears scored 21 pts off the bench on 9-12 shooting.
“That’s the position I know he likes to be in,” said Josh Hart about Brunson afterwards. “We want him in that position. You learn when you play this game that the last 3-4 minutes of the game is’winning time’ — and that’s when your superstars and main guys go out there and show why they’re at that level.”
NY improves to 48-25 and are in a virtual tie with Boston for 2nd place in the East, percentage points behind. New Orleans drops to 25-48.
1. Clarkson Catapults NY in 1st
The Knicks were down 21-16 in the 1st quarter when Karl-Anthony Towns hit a 3, and on the next play, Jordan Clarkson came in with 5:31 left in the quarter — NY down 21-19.
Clarkson proceeded to:
- Grab an offensive rebound off a Mikal Bridges miss, and feed Jalen Brunson for a 3,
- Feed Mitchell Robinson for a slam dunk,
- Hit a 10-foot fadeaway jumper,
- Feed OG Anunoby for a 3,
- Score on a drive,
- Feed Mitchell Robinson for an alley-oop dunk, and
- Feed OG Anunoby for a 3 at the buzzer (on the next possession after a Brunson 3).
NY 42 New Orleans 28 after 1 quarter. Clarkson was the energizer in a 23-7 run for NY.
“THE JORDAN CLARKSON SHOW.” pic.twitter.com/I3egOpMI6m
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 25, 2026
“Jordan Clarkson won’t get headlines but his play speaks loud as he’s doing more than just scoring, ” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “He’s bringing effort, activity, defending, good action off ball, finding the open man whether it’s creating or making the extra pass while picking his spots and making the right play.”
2. Fears Scary in the 2nd
But New Orleans pushed back at the start of the 2nd quarter — led by Jeremiah Fears — a 19-year-old 6’3 guard who was the #7 pick in the June 2025 draft out of Oklahoma.
Fears used his quickness to get to the basket, and when he wasn’t doing that he was hitting 3’s or feeding Derik Queen or Karlo Matkovic for buckets inside or for 3’s.
Zion Williamson was also getting buckets inside. A Matkovic 3 off a Fears pass put New Orleans up 46-44 with 7:05 left in the half.
OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and the rest of the Knicks pushed back — and NY led 66-60 at the half.
3. Back and Forth in the 3rd
But a Zion Williamson drive-and-1 and a Trey Murphy III 3 to start the 3rd tied the game just like that at 66-66.
The game stayed close throughout the quarter — NY taking a lead, New Orleans coming back to take the lead, again and again. A Mitchell Robinson alley-oop dunk off a Brunson pass gave NY a 93-92 lead entering the 4th.
4. Brunson Leads NY in the 4th
Mohamed Diawara got a bucket inside off a Jose Alvarado assist to start the 4th, and a KAT 3 gave the Knicks a 98-92 lead.
OG was playing Great Defense all night on Zion.
THAT’S ALL-NBA DEFENSE FROM OG. pic.twitter.com/QnmC44iLeK
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 25, 2026
But the Pelicans wouldn’t go away — Jeremiah Fears getting consecutive buckets to push back.
0 Fears. straight SPEED pic.twitter.com/8xHduNXRrA
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 25, 2026
NY led 103-100 after another Fears bucket when Jalen Brunson took over — scoring 10 straight NY points. Brunson hit:
- a 15-foot stepback
- a 16-foot stepback, and
- 2 free throws off a drive (after Fears hit a 3),
But Fears scored again, then stole a Mikal Bridges pass and fed Saddiq Bey for a layup to pull New Orleans within 109-107 with 4:28 left. NY timeout.
Brunson stepped up again with 2 Clutch buckets — a 12-foot stepback, and then a drive off a Josh Hart rebound to put NY up 113-107 with 3:26 left. HUGE.
Brunson then fed Josh Hart for a huge bucket next time down to put NY up 115-109.
GET OUT THEIR WAY pic.twitter.com/YRUX4CtFte
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 25, 2026
Zion Williamson scored inside to pull the Pelicans back within 115-111 with 1:41 left, but Brunson — fouled — hit 2 free throws plus a technical free throw (tech on Herbert Jones) to put NY up 118-111 with 1:11 left — icing the game.
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