Brunson and Knicks spoil Jeremiah Fears' big night at MSG

But it was Brunson who made the difference for the Knicks in a game that was close throughout the second half. He scored 10 straight points for New York midway through the fourth quarter, including back-to-back baskets after the Pelicans had cut it to 109-107 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

Zion Williamson scored 22 points and Jeremiah Fears had 21 for the Pelicans, who have lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak. It was a banner night for the Pelicans' 19-year-old rookie in his MSG debut. He went 9-of-12 from the field and made three 3-pointers while also being active on defense and dishing out three assists. He appeared to have a third steal that would've led to a runout and tie game midway through the 4th quarter, but the refs mistakenly deemed him out of bounds and the Knicks retained possession with a 2-point lead.

The Knicks made 15 of 21 shots (71.4%) in the first quarter, including 7 for 11 (63.6%) from 3-point range, and closed with a 15-0 run to take a 42-28 lead. New Orleans then opened the second with an 18-2 surge to go ahead 48-46 as the Knicks took more than five minutes to make their first basket. New York recovered to go back ahead 66-60 at halftime.

The Knicks have feasted on a soft part of their schedule, beating Indiana twice, Utah, Brooklyn and Washington during the winning streak, which came entirely against teams with losing records. They will get tested on a four-game road trip that begins Thursday at Charlotte and features stops at NBA champion Oklahoma City and Houston.

Pelicans: Visit Detroit on Thursday.

Knicks: Visit Charlotte on Thursday.

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