Hornets 97, Knicks 84
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Guards Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin scored 26 points each, and the Charlotte Hornets completed an impressive weekend sweep by beating the New York Knicks 97-84 on Saturday night.
Walker and Lin combined to go only 14-of-42 from the field, but they were a perfect 19-of-19 from the free-throw line - Lin hitting all 10 of his free-throws and Walker all nine of his.
The Hornets (21-23) started the weekend by rallying from a 19-point second-half deficit to win in overtime at Orlando on Friday. After recently losing nine of 10, they have now won three of their last four.
Charlotte led 45-43 at halftime, then outscored New York 32-13 in the third quarter to lead 77-56 after three quarters. New York scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and eventually got as close as 10 before the Hornets pulled back away.
The Hornets also received 20 points from forward P.J. Hairston.
The Knicks (22-24) have lost two straight games.
Forward Derrick Williams had a monster game off the bench, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Knicks also got 13 points each from forward Kristaps Porzingis, and 10 each from center Robin Lopez and guard Arron Afflalo.
Forward Carmelo Anthony, who came into the game averaging 21.6 points, finished with nine points and did not score in the second half. He sat out the entire fourth quarter.
NOTES: The Hornets were without G Nicolas Batum (strained toe), C Cody Zeller (shoulder strain), G Jeremy Lamb (toe sprain) and C Al Jefferson (knee surgery). ... The Knicks were without F Cleanthony Early (knee) and F Lance Thomas (knee). ...The Knicks stayed in Charlotte and did not fly home Saturday night after the game, as usual, because of weather conditions in New York. ... The teams had split two previous games this season. The Hornets won 95-93 in Charlotte on Nov. 11 and the Knicks won 102-94 in New York on Nov. 17. The teams will also meet in New York on April 6. ... The Hornets recalled G Aaron Harrison from the D-League on Saturday. Harrison played one game with the Oklahoma City Blue after being sent down earlier in the week. ... The Hornets rallied from a 19-point second half deficit to win at Orlando 120-116 in overtime on Friday. The Knicks lost at home to the Los Angeles Clippers 116-88 on Friday. ... The Hornets were 3-4 on the second night of back-to-backs coming into Saturday's game, while the Knicks were 3-6. ... The Hornets will hit the road for a four-game Western trip, starting Monday at Sacramento. They will also face Utah, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers on the trip. ... The Knicks will return home to face Oklahoma City on Tuesday.