The Magic led by as much as 19 points on the night, but their 5-of-19 shooting fourth quarter let the Hornets right back into the game, and they took advantage.
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Charlotte also went 32 of 37 from the free throw line, while NY struggled to 19 of 32. Meanwile, the Knicks had a no-show performance from Arron Afflalo, who scored 10 points, not hitting his first field goal until late in the third quarter.
Defensive rebounding was a problem for the Magic during their loss to the Hornets. “So I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a big road trip for us”. But Porzingis missed from the same spot on the next possession with a chance to get the deficit to single digits, and Kemba Walker sliced through the lane for a three-point play to end the rally.
Despite being undermanned-the Hornets were without borderline All-Star candidate Nicolas Batum and starting center Cody Zeller word-Charlotte kept the game close with its offensive rebounding, of all things.
With Carmelo Anthony off his game and sitting out the fourth quarter with either a sore left knee or a sore ego, Hornets guard Jeremy Lin continued to shine in his games against the Knicks. Among the poor play, Center Brook Lopez was ejected for receiving two technical fouls in the 3rd quarter. However, when he scores 20 or more points, the Knicks are just 3-6 overall.
“We need to rack up some wins and keep playing together, regardless of who’s not playing, ” Walker said.
“We just weren’t playing with enough energy, ” Fisher said. But Walker hit his next two – including a trey with 8:58 left in the third quarter that put the Hornets ahead 50-43 – and they were soon on their way. He finished 7 of 25 from the field, but made all nine free throws. NY followed that loss with their most impressive stretch of the season, winning three straight games over Atlanta (twice) and Miami before dropping a nail-biter in San Antonio, where the Spurs have been unbeatable.
Kemba Walker should be worn out, but he insists that he’s happy to do whatever it takes for the Charlotte Hornets. Head coach Steve Clifford wasn’t pleased with his starters last night and allowed the Hornets’ reserves to play the bulk of the second half. He finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes.
The duo hooked up on a few alley-oops during the game as Jordan didn’t have to work hard to improve his NBA-leading field-goal percentage to 72.1 percent.
The Hornets are coming off of an overtime victory against the Magic, one that required a shallow team to dig deep and exert more effort than would have been needed if the Hornets were healthy.
“How do you go beyond a. 500 team?” Anthony got his nine points in just eight shots.
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But after escaping the storm and arriving in Charlotte with little trouble, the Knicks found plenty there Saturday night.
