Knicks at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets look to record their ninth consecutive home win over New York when they host the Knicks on Friday. Charlotte enters the contest with a season-high three-game winning streak after edging the Detroit Pistons 108-107 on Wednesday.
Shooting guard Jeremy Lamb made the decisive jumper in the win over the Pistons on a night in which he was just 4-of-13 shooting while scoring 13 points as Detroit clearly felt it would be Kemba Walker firing away. "I felt like I couldn't hit anything," Lamb told reporters. "Kemba trusted me with the last shot. I'm just happy it went in." The Knicks have lost five straight games, including Wednesday's 113-106 setback against the Cleveland Cavaliers. "The game was lost in the first quarter, but I am happy with the way we fought back," New York coach David Fizdale told reporters of a 39-23 deficit. "These guys never stop fighting."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (8-21): Rookie forward Kevin Knox was inserted into the starting lineup against Cleveland and had 19 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes. "Every game, you're seeing him get a little bit better, doing more things out there for us," Fizdale said afterward. The Hornets saw more than they wanted of Knox while New York posted a 119-107 win on Sunday as the No. 9 overall pick matched his season best of 26 points and collected a season-high 15 rebounds.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (14-13): Walker recorded 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the win over Detroit with his biggest feed being the one to Lamb in the final seconds. "Everybody was expecting me to take that shot. Even my teammates, probably," Walker told reporters afterward. "But I just wanted to try to get to the lane and draw another defender, that's what I did. He made an unbelievable, unbelievable shot. It wasn't the greatest pass but he made me look good on that." Walker, who was just 8-of-25 from the field against the Pistons, is averaging 25.7 points over the past three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Walker scored 25 points in Sunday's win in New York.
2. New York SG Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points against the Cavaliers for his fifth 20-point effort in the past six games.
3. Charlotte F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (personal reasons) is expected back after missing Wednesday's game.