The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the New York Knicks, 129-124, at Smoothie King Arena on Friday evening.

The Pelicans (8-7) looked woefully unprepared to start the game while falling behind by a 32-16 margin in the first quarter. However, the light seemingly came on at that point, as New Orleans racked up 113 points over the final three periods. Nevertheless, the Knicks (4-12) still held a 119-116 lead as late as the 3:24 mark of the fourth quarter before the home squad was able to finish off the contest with a 13-5 run. A Julius Randle tip shot and a Jrue Holiday three-pointer gave the Pelicans some much-needed breathing room in the closing minute to help seal the win. New Orleans held a big advantage on the boards, winning the rebounding battle by a 54-44 margin.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. paced the Knicks with 30 points, a total he supplemented with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Trey Burke turned in 24 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block. Emmanuel Mudiay managed 19 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Allonzo Trier and Kevin Knox generated matching 11-point tallies, with Trier adding five assists and Knox adding five rebounds.

Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with a 43-point, 17-rebound double-double that also included five assists, one steal and one block. Holiday pitched in 24 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block. E'Twaun Moore poured in 13 points. Nikola Mirotic contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and one block. Randle led the bench with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Knicks remain on the road and head further south to take on the Orlando Magic on Sunday evening, while the Pelicans remain home and tangle with the Denver Nuggets on that same night.