Jalen Brunson carries the Knicks to victory over the Pelicans through a slow start

NEW ORLEANS — The Knicks didn’t need their best to beat the Pelicans, but they did need Jalen Brunson to put on his cape.

The Knicks started slowly against an overmatched opponent on Saturday and trailed most of the game as Karl-Anthony Towns fouled and the offense was disjointed. It wasn’t pretty.

But then Brunson rose above the pack and finished with 39 points with a stellar fourth quarter, pushing the Knicks to recover with plenty of time to claim a 104-93 victory over the Pelicans.

“This is Captain, this is Cap,” Towns said. “You know what I think of him: one of the most talented players in this league, regardless of his position. He went out there and did what he does best. He was fantastic.”

It was the third straight for the Knicks (18-10) and required a comeback from trailing by as many as 14.

They got very little from Towns, who scored just 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting and dealt with early foul trouble.

But the Knicks continued to fight back, looking for new ways to crack New Orleans’ stout defense.

Finally, with 2:08 left in the third quarter, Brunson’s trey gave them the lead and ended 25 consecutive minutes of play in which the Knicks were either tied or trailing.

After this barrier was removed, the dam burst.

The Knicks never trailed again.

The Pelicans (5-24) didn’t fully let go of the rope, but the hold felt precarious after their lead disappeared. Then Brunson cut them down.

He played 40 minutes and shot 13 of 19 overall and 7 of 10 from distance.

On a night where Towns was frustrated with fouls, scoring 11 points in 27 minutes and five turnovers, Brunson carried the torch.

“I think it’s a good lesson for us, it’s a good game for us,” Towns said. “I don’t think we’ve had a game like this all year. It was a completely different game with a different script. I think we did a good job of learning from our other games and from our losses. And we found a way to play through that game and play at a high level at the end when we needed to.”

The Pelicans are an injury-plagued team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

Their top players Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram remain out indefinitely.

Williamson sat on the bench Sunday in street clothes, a familiar sight. Their arena was half empty and full of Knicks fans.

A victory was therefore expected for the visitors, who warned against taking the struggling Pelicans lightly.

“I think the most important thing you learn is that there are good players on every team,” said Josh Hart, who returned after a game for personal reasons and scored 14 points with eight rebounds in 42 minutes. “And if you come in with the mentality of, ‘This team is struggling or this team isn’t healthy,’ then you might not know a few names. … If you come in with that mentality, it’s going to be a tough game and a game you could very well lose.”

The Knicks were on that line before Brunson took over.

“The ball kept going through the basket,” said the point guard. “At the end of the game I was a little more aggressive. Just kudos to everyone who made stops, walked the floors, got into space and went for a run.

“(The Pelicans) were aggressive. Put under pressure. But I lost a few balls early on. I think I had three in the first half. I was able to really understand what was going on and just be smart. I allowed myself to be myself and not allow myself to be rushed.”