NEW ORLEANS — Zion Williamson came disguised for Halloween weekend as a flamboyant spectator, sitting next to the baseline seats, on the last chair of the Pelicans’ bench.
The Pelicans star wore a very large, very bright yellow hooded sweatshirt and had a good seat to watch his former Duke buddy, RJ Barrett, put on a scary-spectacular, career-high show for the Knicks at Smoothie King Arena.
Barrett outscored the idle Williamson 35-0 in a sensational performance as the Knicks continued their red-hot start with a 123-117 victory over the woebegone Pelicans.
The 35 points — including 25 in the second half — set a career-high for Barrett, breaking the old mark of 32.
“It was fun, fun for us,’’ said Barrett, who also had eight rebounds and six assists. “Especially the type of game it was. They really made a push.’’
Barrett was great all game, shooting 12-for-18 and 6-for-8 from 3-point range, but he single-handedly held off the Pelicans’ late charge in the final two minutes as the Knicks improved to 5-1.
“That was Thibs,’’ Barrett said, referring to head coach Tom Thibodeau. “He was running those plays for me in the end. That’s kind reading the defense. That’s the type of player I am. I was happy I was able to show that today.’’
The Pelicans nearly came all the way back. But Barrett scored nine points in the final 1:40 with a key assist.
“He was terrific — all-around game, start to finish, clutch shots, great hustle, great effort, rebounding the ball, tough shots,’’ Thibodeau raved. “He got downhill. We needed it. They played hard as heck.’’
With the Knicks’ lead cut to two points, Barrett knocked down a big 3-pointer with 1:40 left, after which he shushed the crowd with his index finger to his lips.
A driving Barrett then fed Taj Gibson for a layup with 1:05 left after the Pelicans got within two again. And Barrett topped it off with a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left, to put the Knicks up 119-112, after which he was mobbed by his teammates.
After draining one 3-pointer from the corner early in the fourth quarter, Barrett turned and appeared to glance briefly at his former college teammate. The Knicks shot 19-for-33 from 3-point range.
Barrett spoke to Williamson before leaving the arena.
“I saw him after the game,’’ Barrett said. “He just said he was happy for me, stuff like that. But it’s cool. I can’t wait till he gets back out there on the court. It’s cool to just see him there, we don’t see each other often anymore because of the schedules.’’
Thibodeau had fun with the notion Williamson’s presence might have spurred Barrett to his career night.
“I hope that’s not the case,’’ he said. “I love the way he approaches the game. He has a lot of pride. So whether it’s here or whether it’s in front of his Duke friends — Coach K watches a lot of his games and there’s a lot of Duke people in the league. He’s a busy guy. We’ll go with that. He did it because of Zion.’’
The Pelicans are reeling at 1-6 — beset by Williamson’s season-long rehab from foot surgery. On Saturday, the Pelicans gave their other star, Brandon Ingram, a rest day after he woke up ”sore” following Friday’s loss to the Kings, rookie coach Willie Green said.
Barrett and the ever-stockier Williamson are on divergent paths, with the Knicks’ swingman slowly emerging as a future All-Star and two-way player while the Pelicans star’s injury history is becoming concerning.
Barrett’s gem followed his terrific 20-point outing in Chicago, when he also made a game-sealing stop on defense against DeMar DeRozan.
Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, has yet to make his season debut. The half-empty stands were a reflection of a fan base waiting for the return of a player who had been billed as the next Michael Jordan or LeBron James.
Now Barrett has a leg up.
