The Knicks had lamented the amount of turnovers they committed Friday night against the Hawks, even if they were able to outshoot their mistakes for their first victory of the season.
Sixteen turnovers one night earlier in Atlanta were exceeded by 19 more giveaways — led by a whopping eight by Julius Randle — in the sloppy Knicks’ ugly, 96-87 loss to the Pelicans on the second half of a back-to-back Saturday night at Smoothie King Center.
Randle also endured another erratic shooting performance, finishing 4-for-15 overall while missing all five of his 3-point attempts to finish with 10 points.
The two-time All-Star forward has connected on just 27.7 percent of his field-goal attempts (13-for-47) through the Knicks’ 1-2 start.
Jalen Brunson, who had buried a career-high eight 3-pointers Friday against the Hawks, missed four of five from long distance as part of a 7-for-37 teamwide shooting effort from beyond the arc.
RJ Barrett scored 18 points to lead the Knicks, who will complete this three-game road trip Tuesday night in Cleveland.
Julius Randle, who scored just 10 points and had eight turnovers, argues with an official during the Knicks’ 96-87 loss to the Pelicans.
Julius Randle, who scored just 10 points and had eight turnovers, argues with an official during the Knicks’ 96-87 loss to the Pelicans.
Brandon Ingram netted 26 points to lead the Pelicans (2-0), and Zion Williamson had 24 on 12-for-17 shooting in his first game against the Knicks in more than two years.
Never one to rest players or even alter his rotation based on the schedule, Thibodeau had said before the game that the Knicks had “no restrictions” in their first back-to-back situation of the season.
“I think the big thing is with the schedule, you know when the games are coming, and that’s a big challenge in this league is to be ready,” Thibodeau said. “You have to be ready for whatever is coming your way, to be mentally tough. And sometimes the schedule is against you. Sometimes, it’s in favor.”
Jalen Brunson, who was held to just 14 points, battles Jonas Valanciunas for the ball during the Knicks’ loss.
“There’s 82 games that you’re gonna play. There’s gonna be 41 at home, 41 on the road. Whatever time they tell us to go, we gotta be ready to go. So if it’s early start, late start, back-to-back, that’s the way you’re challenged in this league and that’s why it’s important to prepare yourself the proper way, to have a strategy for everything.”
Much of the Knicks’ strategy defensively had to center around Williamson, who had missed the previous four meetings between the teams over the previous two seasons with multiple injuries. The two-time All-Star had scored 24 points in the Pelicans’ opening win Wednesday over Memphis after not appearing in a game after Jan. 2 last season.
Mitchell Robinson (eight points, 15 rebounds) rejected Williamson at one end and scored four straight points at the other, including a putback dunk off an offensive rebound midway through the first quarter, but the Knicks trailed, 26-12, after 12 minutes.
Zion Williamson, who scored 24 points, goes up for a layup after driving past Mitchell Robinson during the Knicks’ loss.
Zion Williamson, who scored 24 points, goes up for a layup after driving past Mitchell Robinson during the Knicks’ loss.
Randle committed three of the Knicks’ seven turnovers in the quarter and five of their 10 in the first half. They also missed 15 of 21 field-goal attempts in the period, including all eight tries from 3-point range. Williamson, CJ McCollum and Ingram each posted eight points in the opening session.
The Pelicans extended that cushion to 19 early in the second, and despite nine points by Barrett in the quarter, the Knicks still were down 55-37 at intermission, with Williamson registering a game-high 12 before halftime.
Quentin Grimes nailed a 3-pointer for his first points of the game early in the third, and Barrett sank a reverse layup in a 14-6 run to open the second half to close the gap to 10. Brunson’s 3-pointer got the Knicks within seven 5:05 into the quarter, and another by Josh Hart trimmed the deficit to six late in the third.
Ingram was fouled by Hart as he sank a fadeaway jumper and converted the free throw for a 77-68 game entering the fourth. But the Knicks missed their first eight shot attempts to open the final period, and the Pelicans used a 10-1 spurt to essentially close out the victory.
