Something for Knicks fans to be thankful for: a real, live winning streak.
Behind 27 points from Emmanuel Mudiay — including 15 in the final six minutes — and a career-high 25 points from the crowd-pleasing rookie Allonzo Trier, the Knicks rallied for an improbable 114-109 win over the Pelicans on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Pelicans led 101-92 with 6:00 remaining, and after what had been three competitive quarters, it was shaping up as another night when the Knicks got edged in crunch time by a superior club.
Instead, to the delight of the Thanksgiving weekend crowd, the Knicks ripped off a late 16-2 run. Mudiay, relentlessly pushing the pace, had 12 of the Knicks’ points during that decisive run.
“Just getting stops and getting out and running, I think that’s what the main thing was,” Mudiay said.
The Knicks (6-14) are a .300 club at the approximate one-quarter mark of the season. But with two consecutive victories over playoff-caliber opponents — on Wednesday, they stunned the Celtics on the road — there is a growing optimism around David Fizdale’s young club as it heads into a revenge game of sorts against his old Grizzlies team.
“Hopefully this can become a habit of maturing and growing to finish games better,” Fizdale said.
After Trey Burke played the role of closer in Boston — “Whoever’s rolling that night is playing, and they’re rooting for each other,” Fizdale said — this time it was Mudiay, who put up his highest point total in a Knicks uniform. The 22-year-old point guard scored every which way down the stretch — on breakneck layups, at the free-throw line, even canning a 3-pointer with his improving stroke.
“Tonight was a breakout for him,” Fizdale said. “I got a lot of confidence in the kid. … And he’s taken it to heart and he’s really taken the floor general position to heart and he’s trying to lead that group.”
Trier had provided the early Knicks fireworks, more submissions for the undrafted rookie’s lengthening highlight reel. During a 5-for-5, 11-point second quarter, Trier had a 3-pointer, a tough finish off the glass on a driving layup, a fast-break dunk that rattled around and down, a stepback 19-foot jumper and another cutting layup.
He added four crucial points in a row that gave the Knicks the lead back (and for good) at 104-103 with 2:07 to play
“I believe in Zo. He’s played in a few late-game situations to close the game out for me,” Fizdale said. “And the thing I thought he really did a job on beyond the scoring was he really competed against Jrue [Holiday, who shot 10-of-25] defensively. ’’
The Knicks might not have kept contact with the Pelicans (10-9) if Anthony Davis had stayed on the floor. The superstar forward had 24 points and 10 rebounds at halftime and 31 and 12 with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter when he appeared to hurt his ankle and hobbled off the court into the tunnel. Davis checked back in with 3:18 left in the game, by that time the crowd jumping and the momentum squarely with the Knicks.
The Knicks’ comeback was all the more impressive for coming without any meaningful contribution from Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed his first 11 shots en route to a wretched 2-of-15 shooting night.