KNICKS QUIET ZION; NETS COME UP SHORT

Get best of Zion & Pelicans for fourth straight victory

Not even Zion Williamson, the supernatural athletic phenomenon, could solve the Knicks’ defense.

Julius Randle, on the other side, had all the answers.

Playing his first career game against the Knicks, Williamson was flustered down the stretch by the defensive pressure, as owner James Dolan watched his team win its season-high fourth straight Wednesday, 116-106.

Randle was again the hero with 32 points, outdueling Williamson in a head-to-head of point-forwards. Williamson had 25 points but bombed in the fourth quarter, managing just four points on 1-of-4 shooting with two turnovers.

Two of the Knicks’ biggest shots in the final four minutes – a Randle stepback jumper and Alec Burks’ trey – occurred in the face of a late-arriving Williamson.

After the game, Dolan stood outside the tunnel entrance like a fan congratulating coach Tom Thibodeau and the players. The owner emerged in his familiar baseline position for the first time this season, sitting between team president Leon Rose and top executive World Wide Wes.

In MSG, Dolan was watching games from the lower bowl before fans were allowed back into the arena. Then he retreated elsewhere in MSG, out of sight, as the Knicks enjoyed their best start to a season in eight years. The billionaire is a noted blues enthusiast, and perhaps New Orleans’ musical atmosphere attracted Dolan, even if the city is a shell of itself during the pandemic.

Either way, he has managed to stay out of the spotlight this season – which is typically good news for the Knicks.

“He’s been great for us, been great with me,” Thibodeau said. “I know (the front office) is in constant communication. Everything that we have asked for in terms of having a first-class organization he’s been committed.

“And you can’t ask for anything more from an owner. So, we’re excited about that.”

The Knicks (29-27) continue to impress and shock, especially Randle. On a night starting center Nerlens Noel was a late scratch because of ankle soreness and RJ Barrett produced a dud (six points, 2-for-10 shooting), they still halted New Orleans three-game winning streak. Alec Burks was again a catalyst off the bench with 21 points.

World Wide Wes, a nightly show on the sideline, was even more animated sitting next to the owner, yelling and rising as the Knicks ended the game on 24-7 run.

They’ve defied all expectations and now reside alone in the Eastern Conference’s seventh spot, just below the Heat. New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy said the Knicks are “playing about as well as anybody in the East.” But Van Gundy said he’s not surprised by the Knicks’ breakthrough and Thibodeau’s immediate impact, noting that the coach has been installing his system a voluntary minicamp in September.

That system worked to stifle Williamson, who afterward talked around the idea that he needed to make better decisions when quadruple-teamed.

“We were just trying to run sets, run what coach was calling. At the same time, trying to make a basketball play,” Williamson said. “Four or five people are right there. Two or three people got to be open. It’s just the real of it. I try to make plays when I can but in the end I just got to find an open teammate.”