NEW ORLEANS — The Pelicans’ ballboy was caught up in an act of trickery that resulted in a technical foul.
In the second quarter of the Knicks’ 104-93 victory over the Pelicans, a loose ball bounced over the baseline near New York’s basket and it wasn’t clear who touched it last.
The referee awarded the ball to the Knicks but, as the Pelicans were considering whether to challenge the ruling, the ballboy attempted to stall by wiping a clean court.
Replays suggested the ballboy was urged to “sweep” by the Pelicans’ bench — including one player who gave a little nudge on the back — and Knicks players confirmed they heard the orders.
“The bench was yelling, ‘Sweep, sweep,’ ” Brunson told The Post. “And not one person had fallen on the floor.”
The referee issued a technical on the Pelicans — or maybe to the ballboy — and Brunson converted the foul shot to cut the deficit to four with 4:19 left in the half.
“They knew what they were doing. Poor ballboy got yelled at,” Josh Hart told The Post. “Their bench was telling him that.”
Returning from his one-game absence for personal reasons, Hart credited New Orleans coach Willie Green for reviving and boosting his career.
Hart spent 2 ½ seasons with the Pelicans and desired a trade before Green took over for Stan Van Gundy in 2022.
“He was my third coach in three years,” Hart said. “Coming off Stan where I probably had one of the worst years of my career. And Willie just kind of believed in me. I didn’t want to come back, but I talked to him and we got on the same page at the beginning of that year.
“He just trusted me. He put me in position to be successful in terms of being more of a playmaker and scorer. I think that’s the biggest thing. He trusted in me as a player, but more so as a person. And that really gained my confidence. You see the games that I played there, I think I averaged almost what I average now. Now I think I’m at probably one of the best years of my career. I’ve always got love for Willie. He changed things for me. … I always credit Willie a lot with changing the trajectory of my career.”
Jericho Sims delivered one of his better performances of the season while filling in for 13 minutes for Karl-Anthony Towns, who fell in early foul trouble.
“Jericho came in and gave us a big lift,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Knicks outscored the Pelicans by 17 points with Sims on the court.
Once dreamt as the savior of the Knicks and face of the NBA, Zion Williamson remains perpetually unavailable, out indefinitely and reportedly on the trading block.
Williamson, who missed his 20th straight game Saturday for the Pelicans because of a hamstring strain, has only managed four appearances against the Knicks since joining the NBA six years ago.
It’s been one ailment after another since Williamson was considered the ultimate prize by the Knicks organization for losing 65 games in 2018-19.
They instead finished third in the draft lottery and selected RJ Barrett.
With so many missed games, Williamson’s contract can be waived after the season by the Pelicans and speculation around the league is ramping up about a trade.
In previous years, the Knicks were a potential trade suitor — especially while New York was stocked with draft capital — but they’re not currently in position to swap productive players for an unreliable one.
Also, Williamson ditched CAA, the agency with close ties to the Knicks front office, and now is repped by WME.