Charlotte Hornets snap three-game skid with home win over the Knicks, 109-91
Frank Kaminsky tied a season-high as he helped lead the Charlotte Hornets past the Kristaps Porzingis-less New York Knicks.
The Charlotte Hornets (11-19) were able to defeat the New York Knicks (16-14) as they snapped their three-game losing streak and picked up only their third win in their last 13 games. Even though the Hornets were struggling coming into this game, they got lucky as the Knicks were without their top two scorers. A strong showing from Charlotte’s bench helped their cause as well.
Cody Zeller (knee surgery) missed his seventh consecutive game while Treveon Graham (back spasms) was also inactive in this one. There is still no word on when Steve Clifford could potentially rejoin the team. Stephen Silas improved to 3-6 as the Hornets’ acting head coach.
Game Story
After a tightly contested first quarter, Charlotte took complete control of the game by outscoring New York, 31-19, in the second period. The Hornets didn’t look back and even pushed their lead to as much as 27 points in the fourth. This game featured only two ties and one lead change.
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Player of the Game
Frank Kaminsky tied his season-high as he finished the game with 24 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and was second on the team in +/- with a +18. The Tank made his first eight shots from the field and ended up going 10-13 from the field and 4-6 from the three-point line in one of his best games of the year.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 15 points and 10 rebounds while Dwight Howard also got a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Marvin Williams chipped in with 12 points. Both Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum failed to score in double figures but the Hornets’ bench more than made up for their lack of scoring in this one.
The Knicks were led by Michael Beasley who put up 23 points and nine rebounds. Jarrett Jack had 12 points and seven assists while Enes Kanter was held to only 11 points. Frank Ntilikina and Kyle O’Quinn each scored 10 points off of the bench for New York as they led the second unit.
Highlight of the Night:
Tweet of the Game:
The Charlotte hornets won a basketball game tonight so that’s good
— Laieke Abebe (@StrikaNation24_) December 19, 2017
"Quick Stings"
- Dwight recorded his 17th double-double of the season.
- Charlotte’s bench outscored New York’s second unit, 54-34.
- The Hornets held the Knicks to 0 second-chance points.
- Kaminsky had a season-high in blocks with 2.
- The Hornets won the rebounding battle, 47-37, and outscored NY in points in the paint, 52-46.
With the win, Charlotte improves to 1-1 in their season series against New York. The Hornets snapped a two-game losing to the Knicks and have now won seven straight home games versus NY. The two sides will next face off on March 17th in The Big Apple.
Next: Charlotte's three biggest mistakes
In their next outing, the Hornets will host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, December 20th for their second meeting of the season. The Raptors won that game by 13 points back on November 29th. Charlotte will need to slow down the dynamic backcourt duo of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry if they want to string together a couple wins.