By Norman Castro
EBC New York Bureau
NEW YORK (Eagle News) – In what has been a rough stretch for the New York Knicks, losing the last nine games, they look to get back to their winning ways against the Charlotte Hornets.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points as a strong 42-point third quarter performance helped the Knicks coast to a 124-101 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night. The win ended the Knicks nine-game skid.
Their last win at Madison Square Garden came on January 30th against crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets.
“We were just tired of losing,” said, Frank Ntilikina, who scored 15 points, a career high for the Knicks rookie. “We wanted to have fun and when we play that way, we bring more energy, defensively, offensively [when] we play together. So it’s just cool to play like that.”
The Knicks went into the third quarter with a 57-50 lead. Unlike previous losses, the team played at a higher energy level, continuing to attack the basket and ballooned their lead to as many as 14 points early on.
After a time out, Hardaway continued his aggressive nature driving to the basket, drawing a foul and slowing the momentum of the Hornets. The Knicks continued to pressure the Hornets on the defensive side into isolated plays where they were forced into tough shots or passes. The Knicks couldn’t miss in the closing minutes and grew their lead to 32 points with a score of 99-67 to close out the third quarter.
The Knicks would be on cruise control in the fourth despite a 34-point fourth quarter by the Hornets. The Knicks were able to limit All-Star Hornets guard, Kemba Walker to 10 points for the night.
“Today defensively was a whole team effort,” said Hardaway Jr. “Everytime Kemba drove, we tried to make sure we pack the paint. We just tried to talk out there on defense, communicate, and play the passing lanes. We did a good job on staying aggressive, not allowing [the Hornets] to get in the paint as much and contesting every shot.”
Knicks coach, Jeff Hornacek credits the team’s pressure defense on Walker and Dwight Howard for the win.
“Our bigs did a good job corralling [Kemba and Dwight],” Hornacek said. “Our rotations were pretty good, but overall in the first half, I thought we gave up a few, too many uncontested threes that [the Hornets] missed. I think in the second half, we did a better job in challenging them.”
(Eagle News Service)