Pelicans (27-46), Knicks (30-45)
New Orleans has been a bottom-tier defensive club for much of the season, making it difficult to win when the offense isn’t playing at a high level. On Monday, for the first time in the 2015-16 regular season, the Pelicans managed to prevail despite not reaching the 100-point mark. Again playing without nearly every primary scorer, New Orleans limited New York to just 37 second-half points, overcoming what had been a 10-point deficit. The Pelicans used a 15-0 run early in the third quarter and a key 9-0 run in the fourth to surge past the Knicks, in a matchup of teams who won’t be participating in the postseason next month.