NEW ORLEANS – Jalen Brunson scored 29 of his season-high 39 points in the second half to help the New York Knicks to a 104-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

All-NBA defensive player Herb Jones pressured Brunson in the first half, picking him off at three-quarter court. That pressure led to the Knicks shooting 35.6% in the first half as New Orleans led 49-45.

But Brunson got going in the third quarter and scored 16 points, including 13 straight, in a 22-6 run that erased a 65-52 deficit and gave New York a 74-71 lead. Brunson scored nine of the Knicks’ first 13 points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 95-81.

New Orleans, which lost for the 15th time in its last 16 games, was led by Trey Murphy III with 26 points. Dejounte Murray added 14 points for New Orleans.

The Knicks also got 18 points from Mikal Bridges and 16 from OG Anunoby.

Takeaways

Knicks: Karl-Anthony Towns managed just 5 points on 1 of 5 shooting in the first half. He played just 10 minutes after picking up his third foul 44 seconds into the second quarter.

Pelicans: New Orleans hadn’t led by double digits in a game since a 126-124 win over Phoenix on Dec. 5. Midway through the second quarter, the Pelicans led 45-32 after a three-pointer by Brandon Boston, but faltered down the stretch..

Key moment

The Knicks trailed 65-52 midway through the third quarter, but outscored the Pelicans with a 43-14 run over a span of 10:48 in the third and fourth quarters to take a 95-81 lead.

Key statistics

Brunson made 13 of 19 shots from the floor, including 7 of 10 shots from distance and 6 of 6 shots from the line.

Next

The Knicks host Toronto on Monday night and the Pelicans host Denver on Sunday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba