The Charlotte Hornets (21-23) advanced to 16-8 at home on the season with a 97-94 win over the New York Knicks (22-24).
For Charlotte, a promising week ended on a high note, as the team won its third of four games since Monday and now sits just two games shy of .500. The week went even better for point guard Kemba Walker, who set a franchise record with 52 points against Utah to kick off the week, only to drop 40 two games later.
Walker was once again the team's top scorer against New York, scoring 26 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Backcourt partner Jeremy Lin nearly matched Walker's outputs, scoring 26 points and recording five rebounds and five assists. Charlotte converted on just 34.1 percent of attempts from the field on Saturday, but were able to win comfortably by holding their opponents to 37.7 percent and by holding an enormous advantage at the free-throw line. Charlotte hit 32 of 37 free-throw attempts, while New York went an abysmal 19 for 32.
The Knicks are now on a two-game slide, losing both matchups by double-digits. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis bounced back from a poor 4-for-17 performance on Friday, posting 13 points on 4 for 9 shooting and recording three blocks. All-Star starter Carmelo Anthony, however, struggled mightily, tallying just nine points, six rebounds, and two assists.
New York will have two days to rest after completing a back-to-back. They play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Charlotte, meanwhile, will visit the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
