The Charlotte Hornets got a wire-to-wire win against the New York Knicks, 97-87 on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, snapping the Knicks three-game winning streak.
Charlotte came out with a sense of urgency after their disappointing loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday. Miles Bridges got the Hornets offense going with seven quick points. They held the Knicks scoreless through the first two minutes of play. New York’s first field goal came two and a half minutes into the game on a three ball by R.J. Barrett. The Knicks took a 12-11 lead briefly before the Hornets went on a 14-3 run later in the quarter to establish a double digit lead. Bridges was the main story, especially in the first quarter, scoring 22 points. Julius Randle did not seem interested in guarding Bridges and his teammates also refused the challenge. The Knicks, as a team, scored only 23 points. The Hornets took an 11-point advantage into the second period, 34-23.
Bridges took a break at the beginning of the second quarter after playing all of the first twelve minutes. The offense went stagnant while he was on the sideline and the Knicks were able to climb their way back into the game by going on a 7-0 run to open up the second quarter. Hornets coach, James Borrego quickly inserted Bridges back into the contest. He had the last three baskets of an 8-0 run that extended their lead to twelve, 45-33, bringing him to 28 points for the half. More importantly, the Hornets extended their lead to 18 after Terry Rozier made three-pointers for their last two baskets. Going into the locker room, the Hornets led 62-44.
Bridges was quiet for the majority of the third quarter, but other players stepped up. Rozier and Gordon Hayward did most of the heavy lifting for the Hornets. Bridges eventually got himself back in the swing of things with an acrobatic layup, which gave him 30 points. He knocked down a three on the Hornets next possession, putting them up by 23. They took a 19 point lead into the final quarter, 86-67.
Both teams started out sluggish for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. The Hornets used a timeout at the 7:39 mark. At that point, Charlotte had only manufactured four points and the Knicks had only three. Bridges entered the game and quickly jump started the Hornets offense. He got his career high a few minutes later with a step back three over two Knicks defenders. To his credit, rookie Quentin Grimes took the tough assignment of guarding Bridges in the fourth, but he kept hitting tough shots.
The rest of the game would be considered ‘garbage time’. The Hornets were able to win, even though they were without their franchise point guard LaMelo Ball, who had a non-COVID illness. Cody Martin took the majority of his minutes, while Ish Smith got some time off the bench.
Bridges scored a career-high 38 points on 14 of 20 from the field, grabbed 12 rebounds and had five assists for the Hornets. Rozier added 22 points, six boards and seven dimes. Gordon Hayward scored 16 points, had two rebounds and four assists. Martin had nine point, seven rebounds and four assists.
Randle had a double-double, scoring 18 points, with 10 rebounds and three assists. RJ Barrett also contributed a double-double, with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Immanuel Quickley had 12 points, three rebounds and seven assists. Obi Toppin scored 11 points, with 6 rebounds off the bench.
The Knicks host Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. The Hornets travel to Boston to face Jayson Tatum and the Celtics on Wednesday.
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