Knicks Swat Hornets For Elusive Third Consecutive Victory
The New York Knicks are officially buzzing.
Behind 33 more points from Julius Randle and an additional 26 for RJ Barrett, the Knicks are engaged in their first three-game winning streak since Oct. 21-26, topping the reeling Charlotte Hornets 121-102 on Friday night at Spectrum Center. The headlining duo was part of a seven-Knick effort that reached double figures. That group also included Jalen Brunson, who struggled from the field (3-of-13) but earned a matching 11-point and assist double-double.
While the Knicks (13-13) saw their streak of allowing fewer than 100 points end at two, they got back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 21 and Randle is now engaged in the eighth streak of 30-point games in his career (first since February).
Friday's victory was sealed in the third period, when a small but steady lead turned into a blowout. The Knicks threatened to pull away at several points after carrying a six-point lead into the second half, building leads of 10 and 13 before Charlotte sliced the lead back to single digits. Nothing changed over the first half of the frame, as the Hornets trailed 71-66 after an 8-0 run shortly before the midway mark.
The Knicks went to work shortly after.
New York ended the third quarter on an 18-5 run that proved to build a durable lead that sustained the Knicks for the rest of the night. Miles McBride proved to be the surprising offensive hero, playing a role on seven points in that span. Such efforts included an assist to Quentin Grimes off a takeaway from Jalen McDaniels and a buzzer-beating jumper to close out the frame at, perhaps appropriately, an 18-point advantage.
McBride earned a season-best 10 points in the win and continued to show off the defensive prowess that earned him a role in Tom Thibodeau's latest attempt at a nine-man rotation (one that continued to keep Cam Reddish and Derrick Rose attached to the bench) with two steals.
The Knicks never let their healthy lead slip below 18 in the fourth, instead ballooning their lead to as high as 26. Each of the Knicks' three wins in this active streak has come by double-figures and they fulfilled that with a diverse scoring effort: in addition to Randle, Barrett, Brunson, and McBride, Grimes, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Immanuel Quickley all reached double figures with 11. New York also improved to 9-1 since 2019 when both Randle and Barrett reach at least 25 points.
Charlotte (7-19) has now dropped five of its past six and each of its last four. Terry Rozier led the team with 24 points but it wasn't enough to prevent the team from dropping its second to New York this season. The two sides will face one more time on Mar. 7.
The Knicks will look to keep things rolling on Sunday evening when the Sacramento Kings come to visit Madison Square Garden before the hosts embark upon a three-game road trip (6 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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