Defense lets Charlotte Hornets down in loss to New York Knicks

A second strong game by PJ Washington and Devonte' Graham's return from injury wasn’t enough to spur the Charlotte Hornets to win successive games for only the second time in a month.

Washington tossed in 26 points off the bench in a blistering shooting performance. But the Hornets were done in their 109-97 loss to New York thanks to something that’s victimized them frequently during this stretch where they’ve lost five of their last six games.

That would be defense.

“I think we’ve been not so good on the defensive end,” Washington said. “We’ve been allowing teams to get easy buckets. And for us, when that happens and teams start to roll on us, it’s hard for us to come out and get a bucket. So for us, we've just got to stop people’s momentum a little better and focus on our offense to get the ball moving.”

They simply can't have too many lapses, which was partially the culprit during a third quarter in which they were outscored 31-16, turning a six-point edge after halftime into a nine-point deficit entering the fourth.

"Our defense could have saved us there in the third quarter and we just had too many breakdowns," coach James Borrego said. "Better defense in the fourth, but our third quarter defense really let us down tonight. Part of that was a product of our offense, part of that was just some poor defense."

At least the Hornets got somewhat healthier for the second straight game. Graham had missed the previous two games with a left quad contusion, and he showed a little rust. He connected on just 3 of 10 attempts and had nine points.

However, it sounds like it's going to be a while for before another one of the Hornets' walking wounded gets back on the court, Malik Monk sat out for the 10th straight game nursing a sprained right ankle and it appears he's not close to a return.

"I wish I had better news on that front," Borrego said. "I just don't have much there. It's been a slow process with him and it was a significant ankle injury. He has not rolled that ankle before, so this one has taken awhile to heal. Obviously every ankle injury is different and this has just not gone our direction, this ankle injury. ... It is a slow process right now." 

Quotable: "I think the No. 1 thing is that it doesn't sound like he can injure this thing further. I think if there was that potential we’d be a little bit more cautious there. The positive in this is it sound like it’s just matter of flexibility. Obviously, when you are handling the ball, you are dribbling, you are shooting, you need the flexibility of your wrist. Maybe a big guy is a little bit different, but he handles the ball so much that he needs that flexibility back to be effective. So, just hopeful that he gets it back quick. We just don’t know. This is the first time we are going through it and he’s going through it. But I know our medical group, the doctors, everybody is in line -- we met this morning. There is a plan in place to get that and expedite sort of this flexibility for him. He’s an eager kid. I think he’s going to push it here. The positive is there can't be further injury here. It’s just about comfort now. -- James Borrego on LaMelo Ball and when he will be ready to play

Noteworthy: PJ Washington became just the six player in the past 25 seasons to score 20 or more points in a half off the bench for the Hornets. It marked the second time it's happened this season, with Malik Monk doing the honors back on March 21 when he scored 24 in the first half against Miami.

Up next: at Chicago, 9 p.m. Thursday