Mikal Bridges scores 31, Knicks beat injury-depleted Pelicans 118-85

NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 19 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans 118-85 on Sunday night.

Bridges, who was benched in the fourth quarter of Friday’s victory at Charlotte, rebounded by shooting 12 for 19 from the field and 7 for 12 from 3 for the Knicks, who have won seven of their last 10 games.

Jalen Brunson had 16 points and Miles McBride chipped in 13 points off the bench.

CJ McCollum had 13 points and Trey Murphy III and Yves Missi each scored 11 for the Pelicans, who have lost eight consecutive games and 14 of 15.

The Knicks held the Pelicans to 28 points in the first half.

New Orleans shot 35 for 94 from the field and made just four of their 27 attempts from beyond the arc.

The Pelicans were without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins and Herbert Jones.

Pelicans: New Orleans is 1-10 on the road. The only win away from the Smoothie King Center was at Portland on Oct. 25.

Knicks: New York won the rebound battle 60-42. Towns had 17 of his 19 rebounds in the first half.

The Pelicans dug themselves into a hole in the first quarter by missing 15 consecutive shots during a span of almost nine minutes in which they were outscored 23-1. They trailed 33-10 at the end of the opening period.

New Orleans' franchise low for points scored in the first half is 23 on Dec. 12, 2010, vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

New York hosts Orlando on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup game. New Orleans concludes its three-game road trip at Atlanta on Monday night.

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