Game ID: 22300090
New York Knicks @ New Orleans Pelicans
Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 7:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 26 29 22 19 96NYK 12 25 31 19 87
NOP vs NYK ScoutingNOP vs NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NOP availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/28 · 2 days' rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restNEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 3
NOP availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backOUT Ingram missed 2 since 10/30, out tonight
NEW Hawkins 17 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 4
NOP availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 3 since 10/30, returns tonight: 32 min (95% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 24 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
NYK availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NYK availability going into 10/28 · back-to-backOUT McBride missed 2 since 10/25, returns tonight: 4 min (22% of 21)
OUT Fournier missed 2 since 10/25, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 2 since 10/25, returns tonight: 4 min (37% of 12)
NYK availability going into 10/31 · 2 days' restOUT Fournier missed 3 since 10/25, out tonight
BACK McBride back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (22% of 21)
BACK Sims back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (37% of 12)
NEW Robinson 24 to 30 min over the last 3
NYK availability going into 11/01 · back-to-backOUT Fournier missed 4 since 10/25, out tonight
BACK McBride back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (21% of 21)
BACK Sims back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (30% of 12)
NYK availability going into 11/03 · 1 day's restOUT Fournier missed 5 since 10/25, out tonight
BACK McBride back 10/28 after 2, 6 min since (29% of 21)
BACK Sims back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (30% of 12)
NYK availability going into 11/06 · 2 days' restOUT Barrett missed 2 since 11/01, returns tonight: 31 min (104% of 30)
OUT Fournier missed 6 since 10/25, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 2 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK McBride back 10/28 after 2, 5 min since (24% of 21)
NEW Robinson 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Grimes 20 to 26 min over the last 5
10/25 @ MEM 111-104 — NOP notes
NOP won 111-104. NOP shot 47% (40 of 85) to MEM's 42%, 14 of 32 from three. NOP turned it over 21 times to MEM's 13, and MEM turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 52-37 for them. McCollum led with 24 (8 of 16, 6 of 11 from three); Williamson added 23, Ingram 19. The hinge was Q2, 32-19: NOP came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 17. Ryan was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
10/28 vs NYK 96-87 — NOP notes
NOP won 96-87. NOP shot 46% (40 of 87) to NYK's 37%, 9 of 33 from three. NOP turned it over 13 times to NYK's 18. The glass went 43-59 against them. Ingram led with 26 (11 of 17, 1 of 3 from three); Williamson added 24, McCollum 12. The hinge was Q1, 26-12: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 19. McCollum was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
11/04 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; McCollum at 23 and Williamson at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Ingram (3 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Murray at 22 and Young at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Mathews (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Atlanta has been plus-3 a night and New Orleans minus-6 and the defense, New Orleans allowing 109 a night to Atlanta's 117. Call it Atlanta 115, New Orleans 114, New Orleans keeping it close.
10/25 vs BOS 104-108 — NYK notes
NYK lost 104-108. NYK took 20 more shots (97 to 77), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 37% to BOS's 48%, 18 of 41 from three. Barrett led with 24 (8 of 20, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Quickley added 24, Brunson 15. Q2 was theirs, 28-21, the deficit cut from 12 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 87-76 against them. Randle's -13 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/27 @ ATL 126-120 — NYK notes
NYK won 126-120. NYK shot 48% (43 of 90) to ATL's 48%, 20 of 44 from three. Brunson led with 31 (11 of 21, 8 of 12 from three); Barrett added 26, Randle 17. The hinge was Q1, 35-31: from level to 4 ahead. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
10/28 @ NOP 87-96 — NYK notes
NYK lost 87-96. NYK shot 37% (33 of 90) to NOP's 46%, 7 of 37 from three. NYK turned it over 18 times to NOP's 13, and NOP turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 59-43 for them. Barrett led with 18 (7 of 16, 1 of 6 from three); Brunson added 14, Randle 10. Q3 was theirs, 31-22, the deficit cut from 18 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 74-56 against them. Barrett's -15 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/06 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 102, shooting 41 percent and 30 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Barrett at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Barrett (2 straight). 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; George at 29 and Leonard at 23 a game. 4 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 42 percent from three to New York's 30 and the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and the Clippers plus-1. Call it the Clippers 111, New York 107, New York keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKDD D. DiVincenzo
DJ D. Jeffries
DW D. Windler
IH I. Hartenstein
IQ I. Quickley
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
JR J. Randle
JS J. Sims
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
QG Q. Grimes
RB R. Barrett
NOPBI B. Ingram
CM C. McCollum
CZ C. Zeller
DD D. Daniels
EL E. Liddell
HJ H. Jones
JH J. Hawkins
JV J. Valančiūnas
KL K. Lewis Jr.
LN L. Nance Jr.
MR M. Ryan
ZW Z. Williamson
NYK/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Ingram scores 26, Williamson adds 24 as Pelicans top Knicks 96-87
NEW ORLEANS -- — Brandon Ingram poured in an array of mid-range pullups, turnarounds and fades. Zion Williamson kept finding ways to power toward the rim and finish with touch.
The Pelicans tandem presented problems for a Knicks team playing a second road game in a different city in less than 24 hours.
Ingram scored 26 points, Williamson added 24 and New Orleans remained unbeaten on this young NBA season with a 96-87 victory over New York on Saturday night.
Williamson said that when he and Ingram are on the court together in the fourth quarter, "we kind of give each other that look, like, all right, it's on us now.”
And that's how Pelicans coach Willie Green wants it.
“They carried us tonight offensively and that’s what they need to do night in and night out,” Green said. “That's what they're capable of doing and we’re going to need those two guys to continue to attack."
Williamson, who missed most of last season because of a hamstring injury last Jan. 2, has now scored at least 23 points in each of New Orleans' first two games. Against New York, he hit difficult leaners or one-handed floaters through crowds of defenders, sometimes while being fouled. Several of his baskets brought the crowd to its feet in full voice as he celebrated by flexing his biceps on each side of his head.
“It’s crazy seeing it in real time," Ingram said of some of Williamson's difficult touch shots around the rim. "Sometimes you wonder what shot he’s putting up and it drops straight in.”
But for the 6-foot-6 Williamson, who wasn't always the tallest player on the court from the time he started playing as a child, it's nothing new.
"When I was younger, I used to go to the park," Williamson began. “I was a lot smaller than everybody, so you've got to figure out touch around the basket and different angles, so I think just over time I developed it.”
RJ Barrett scored 18 for the Knicks, who appeared to run out of steam in the fourth quarter after winning in Atlanta one night earlier.
“We knew that would be a challenge coming off a back-to-back,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We were a step behind, a step slow.”
The Knicks were as close as six points late in the third quarter when former Pelican Josh Hart 's 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run.
But Jonas Valanciunas ' first eight points of the game early in the fourth quarter sparked a 10-1 run that put the Pelicans up 85-69. New Orleans maintained a comfortable lead from there.
CJ McCollum scored 12 points and Herb Jones added 10 points to go with three blocked shots.
Jalen Brunson , who scored a team-high 31 for the Knicks on Friday night against the Hawks, missed his first six shots in New Orleans. He didn't make his first field goal until he rolled in an 11-foot fade as he was falling down early in the third quarter and finished with 14 points.
New Orleans-area native Mitchell Robinson grabbed 15 rebounds for New York. Julius Randle grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 10 points, but missed 11 of his 15 shots, including all five he put up from 3-point range. Hart grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Knicks shot 2 for 17 from deep in the first half, and all those long rebounds — and some sloppy play — helped the Pelicans run out to a 19-point lead.
“We got in a big hole early. Turnovers were a problem," said Thibodeau, whose team had 10 first-half turnovers and finished with 18. “We didn’t have a good rhythm and then when we turned it over, we were giving them good-rhythm shots and that hurt.”
New Orleans had 19 of its 25 fast-break points in the first half, when it also scored 30 of its 52 points in the paint.
The Pelicans also hit seven 3s in the opening half, with rookie Jordan Hawkins , the No. 14 draft pick out of Connecticut, hitting three of those to help New Orleans take a 55-37 halftime lead.