Kristian Winfield: Knicks' young players shine in 130-125 victory over Pelicans

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Those second-round picks are growing in in-house value with a head coach more willing to put young players on the floor.

It’s been one of the biggest takeaways in recent games the injury-stricken Knicks have faced, including their 130-125 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Monday. Miles McBride made his return after missing eight games with an ankle sprain, and the Knicks played their second of three games on the road with Josh Hart (ankle) and Mitchell Robinson (load management) joining Landry Shamet (shoulder) on the sidelines.

In years past under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, a ravaged depth chart wouldn’t have guaranteed extended minutes for young players at the end of the roster. But Mike Brown is different from his predecessor in more ways than one, and his willingness to throw freshmen and sophomores into the fire is notable — because the Knicks' kids are responding.

They are taking advantage of their opportunities.

The latest to do so has been rookie Mohamed Diawara, who the Knicks selected with the 51st overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Brown started him in place of Hart for the second game in a row in New Orleans on Monday when he could have turned to a veteran (Guerschon Yabusele) or rolled with a smaller lineup by starting McBride or Tyler Kolek alongside Jalen Brunson in the back court.

But the Knicks have several key players with injury histories worth monitoring. They might need Diawara, a 6-9 versatile forward with growing confidence in his 3-point shot, later in the season, possibly even in the playoffs. And there’s no chance the rookie will be ready under the bright lights and duress of high-intensity postseason basketball if he hasn’t caught a rhythm in the regular season.

It’s the Brown special, something he’s done dating back to his time starting Daniel Gibson as a rookie alongside LeBron James in Cleveland and giving Keon Ellis a shot in Sacramento on a two-way contract.

Diawara rewarded Brown’s confidence: 18 points in 18 minutes, shooting 7 of 9 from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from 3-point range.

The French forward is the third player within his first two seasons to experience a breakout game under Brown this season. Kolek became an integral part of the Knicks’ rotation in McBride’s absence and put up seven points and five assists off the bench against the Pelicans. And Kevin McCullar Jr., the 56th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, posted with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from downtown in Saturday’s win over Atlanta.

Their development is noteworthy because while the Knicks no longer have their own first-round picks to trade, they are sitting on a treasure trove of second-round picks they may need to sweeten an offer around the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. Their best of those assets is a top-eight protected Washington Wizards first-round pick, which will convey as a second-round pick in 2026 and 2027 if the Wizards land in the top eight of the NBA draft lottery this season.

And if this is what Brown is doing with picks 34, 51 and 56, there’s no telling what he can do with another pick at 31 this upcoming summer. The Knicks, who are up against the second apron, need all the quality help they can get on a discount.

Brunson saves the day again

Call it a tale of two halves: 72 Knicks points in the first half to just 58 in the second, both teams ratcheting up the defense in a game that came down to the wire.

Brunson finished with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field, and he turned it up in the fourth quarter once again to carry the Knicks to their 23rd victory against just nine losses.

He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.

McBride’s return

McBride finally returned to the Knicks' rotation after a three-week absence following an ankle sprain sustained in New York’s Dec. 7 victory over the Orlando Magic.

The backup guard looked rusty but energetic in his first game back and finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from downtown. He made a 3 to put the Knicks up by one with under 2:30 left in the fourth quarter on Monday and secured a key offensive rebound with just over a minute left in crunch time before finding Brunson for a floater that put the Knicks up three. He also made four consecutive free throws on the final two possessions, then stuck to Jordan Poole on New Orleans’ final offensive look, forcing a shot that sailed off the backboard as Poole attempted to draw a foul.

McBride was off to a career year prior to his injury, averaging 11.6 points on 44.4% shooting from three-point range on a career-high 6.2 attempts per game.

Anunoby’s All-Star campaign

OG Anunoby came in 13th place in the first fan vote returns of the NBA’s All-Star race, and he played like someone making a statement in New Orleans on Monday.

On a cold 3-point shooting night (1-of-8 from downtown), Anunoby finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds while assuming the primary defensive assignment of guarding Zion Williamson (32 points) all night.

While he almost certainly won’t make the All-Star Game as a starter, Anunoby’s two-way impact has been seared into the brains of the head coaches who’ll be voting on reserves in the coming weeks.

The Knicks forward is averaging 15 points and five rebounds on 45.9% shooting from the field and 37.9% shooting from deep, but he could see his numbers continue to increase with Hart out of the lineup due to injury.

Bey’s audition

The Knicks didn’t have the only Villanova products on the floor on Monday.

Saddiq Bey got to Nova the same summer Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo declared for the NBA draft, but he’s been linked to the Knicks in trade rumors given his collegiate history and his $6.1M salary being in striking range of a Yabusele trade ($5.5M).

Bey put on quite the audition for his potential suitor: He scored 23 of the Pelicans’ 41 first-quarter points, a new career high for any quarter of his career.

The Pelicans’ forward proceeded to finish with 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field.

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