Hornets Secure Spot in Play-In Beating Knicks

The Charlotte Hornets clinched a spot in the play-in tournament with a victory over the New York Knicks, 125-114 on Wednesday.

The Hornets started the game with a couple of easy layups in the paint, but the Knicks went on an 8-0 run to respond. New York got several lucky bounces on the offensive glass and made a few early shots from downtown. They made a high percentage of their shots despite the majority of them being contested and the Hornets struggled to keep pace. Miles Bridges picked up where he left off on his last visit to Madison Square Garden, with 11 first quarter points, to keep the Hornets in striking distance. Kelly Oubre Jr. connected on three field goals to pull the Hornets within two, 31-29, at the end of the first quarter.

Charlotte outplayed the Knicks in an energetic start to the second quarter, to recapture the lead. Oubre continued his great play off the bench, with aggressive defense and his pursuit of loose balls. LaMelo got his teammates involved with a plethora of open looks to help the Hornets to a very efficient first half. They still had their difficulties keeping the Knicks out of the paint, so the game remained close. The Hornets led by three at halftime, 58-55, but it could have been six. The officials took away a Ball three-pointer and ruled that he was out of real estate.

The Hornets forced some early turnovers to get out on the break and score in the interior to start the second half. They continued to play hard on the defensive end of the court, however, they had a few breakdowns as well, which led to some easy Knicks baskets. The period was played relatively even until Evan Fournier got hot for the Knicks. The Hornets went on a 7-0 surge to conclude the third quarter, to take an eight point lead into the final frame, 91-83.

The Hornets continued to play stifling defense and scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take a 12 point lead and force Knicks’ coach Tom Thidodeau to call a time out. The teams started to exchange baskets from that point, which would have been acceptable for the Hornets, but that was not the case for all of the quarter.

The Knicks scored eight consecutive points, slicing the lead to four after a three-point play from Julius Randle, with 3:39 remaining. Bridges then took over and outscored the Knicks by himself, 14-5 over a span of almost three minutes. He hit a three-pointer and converted a PJ Washington pass for a windmill dunk to make it 114-106. Bridges later followed Fournier’s basket with a layup pass from Ball, extending the lead to 119-108. With his dominance, Bridges locked up the win for the Hornets.

Charlotte improved to 40-37 and clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

“This is not where we ultimately want to end up. I’m proud of this group,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “For us to clinch a play-in spot, to be at 40 wins right now … to be in this position speaks volumes to their commitment, their growth, their togetherness, their fight, resiliency.”

Bridges scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. He had six rebounds and three assists for the Hornets. Oubre chipped in 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including four three-pointers, with five rebounds, one assist and one block off the bench. Ball had a double with 20 points, five rebounds, a career-high 15 assists and three steals. Rozier added 15 points, with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Washington contributed with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks.

Fournier had a team-high 30 points, going 6 for 8 from beyond the arc for the Knicks. He also had four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Randle added 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Immanuel Quickley finished with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and one steal off the bench.

“You’re not eliminated until you’re eliminated,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The Knicks host Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The Hornets travel to Philadelphia to take on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.