The New York Knicks overcame a dreary start to defeat the Charlotte Hornets and remain undefeated in NBA Cup group play.
The Thanksgiving tryptophan wore off just in time for the New York Knicks.
New York got off to an alarmingly slow start in a Black Friday matinee against the reeling Charlotte Hornets but recovered well enough to secure a 99-98 win in front of a mostly pro-Knick crowd at Spectrum Center.
Breaking through amidst a sloppy slugfest, one that saw the Knicks fall behind by as much as 10, was Jalen Brunson, who tallied 31 points in the win on 8-of-16 from the field. Josh Hart (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles while Miles McBride put in 14 and five boards in relief. All that and more also helped New York overcome a season-worst 21 turnovers.
The Knicks (11-8, 3-0) not only secured a winning record on a five-game road trip, tied for the longest this season, but also remained perfect in NBA Cup group play. A potential winner-take-all meeting for East Group A’s advancement spot is set for Tuesday against the Orlando Magic.
Facing a Hornets group with several major names out (not least of which was top scorer LaMelo Ball), the Knicks once again fizzled in the first and faced a 23-15 deficit, tying the cellar mark for fewest points in a season that was all-too-recently set in Wednesday’s loss in Dallas. New York recovered well enough to take a brief lead toward the end of the half but Josh Green’s four points in the final 1.1 seconds (the latter earned when he intercepted a Mikal Bridges inbounds pass) gave Charlotte the intermission advantage.
Though the Knicks never let the Hornets fully fly away–no one led by more than four in the third quarter–they had trouble overcoming the final portion of the lasting deficit. Charlotte seemingly had a response for every metropolitan run and even recharged their lead to six at the nine-minute mark of the third when Nick Smith Jr. turned a Hart goaltending turnover into a three-pointer.
LIke their prior momentum-shifters, however, Charlotte was unable to create further distance and the Knicks opened the second half of the fourth quarter with nine points in a row. Brunson gave the Knicks a lead that proved permanent with a jumper with 4:48 remaining while the momentum shifted for good immediately after when Towns tipped a Vasilije Micic pass to McBride, who took it the distance for a show-stopping dunk.
Brunson wound up scoring each of the Knicks’ final five points, all from the foul line, to seal the deal, rendering a Green buzzer-beater that ran out the clock in the time it took to fall meaningless. The Knicks’ captain capped off the final frame with 11 points, part of a narrow 28-26 advantage over the last dozen.
Charlotte (6-13, 0-3) has lost four in a row overall and five straight to the Knicks, who swept the season series last year. With Ball down, Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 20 points but he needed a 7-of-25 effort from the field to make it there.
The Hornets have an immediate opportunity for revenge as they’ll be at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. In the meantime, the Knicks finally return home on Sunday evening when they face the New Orleans Pelicans (6 p.m. ET, MSG).
