It’s clear that no player is more essential to the Knicks than Jalen Brunson, especially during the recent injury rash.
But the All-Star point guard also sat out Tuesday night with what the team diagnosed as a neck spasm, and the injury-riddled Knicks only lasted so long, falling short of 115 for the seventh time in 10 games. Lost -92 to the Pelicans at the Garden.
The Knicks (35-24) also had Isaiah Hartenstein sidelined with recurrent Achilles tendon pain, but he returned just two weeks after missing three games before the All-Star break with the same injury.
Coach Tom Thibodeau used a seven-man rotation until garbage time, with Donte DiVincenzo scoring 23 points and Bojan Bogdanovic 20 points off the bench.
Josh Hart had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in 40 minutes for the Knicks, but the Knicks were also without Mitchell Robinson (ankle), Julius Randle (shoulder), and OG Anunoby (elbow).
Trey Murphy III hit six 3-pointers for 26 points, Brandon Ingram had 24 points, Zion Williamson added 21 points and fouled out, and the Pelicans won (35-24).
Hart remained in the game after being hit in the face early in the game by Williamson, while Ingram left the game midway through the Pelicans’ first quarter with a foot injury.
DiVincenzo missed four of his first five 3-pointers and the Knicks shot 31.8 percent from the field overall and led 26-19 in the first quarter.
Murphy flashed a dunk and sank a 3-pointer to push New Orleans’ cushion to 10 points in the opening minutes of the second, but Bogdanovic made it five straight with a right corner trey and two free throws. Alec Burks drove the lane and scored. A layup pulled the Knicks back within two points.
Bogdanovic finished the first half with a team-high 14 points, and Hart added 11 points and seven rebounds, and the Knicks were within one point, 48-47, at the break.
Williamson scored half of the Pelicans’ points in a 10-0 spurt to start the third quarter, and Herb Jones’ corner 3 forced the Knicks into a 63-52 hole midway through the period.
DiVincenzo hit a 3-pointer to pull the Knicks within seven points with three minutes left in the quarter, and the Knicks led 74-67 entering the final quarter.
But the Knicks fell just short, as Matt Ryan sank an early 3-pointer and Williamson made a traditional 3-point play as the Pelicans went on a 16-8 run to restore the lead by 15 points, 41-25. It was a draw. -Quarter Away.
