By Sam Perley, hornets.com
Result Looking to pull off consecutive wins after their impressive comeback victory in overtime on Friday night in Orlando, the Hornets stormed away from the visiting New York Knicks in the second half to finish off a dominant 97-84 win on Saturday, Jan. 23, in Charlotte. Leading the way for the Hornets were Jeremy Lin, Kemba Walker and P.J. Hairston who combined to score 72 total points as Charlotte notched its third win in the last four games. Derrick Williams tallied a team-high 19 points off the bench for the Knicks in the loss.
Turning Points The Hornets came out of halftime on fire as they put together a dominant third-quarter performance by outscoring the visiting Knicks, 32-13, to take a 77-56 lead entering the fourth. Much of their success came via the free-throw line as Charlotte drained 14-of-15 attempts from the charity stripe (93.3 percent) while Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin combined for 19 total points in the third quarter to lead the way for the Hornets. Charlotte’s defense was also on point in the third as it allowed the Knicks to connect on just 5-of-21 field-goal attempts (23.8 percent). New York hung around until midway through the fourth quarter but ultimately couldn’t get anything going as the Hornets cruised to their second-straight win.
Inside the Box Score Kemba Walker finished with a game-high-tying 26 points, six rebounds and a team-high-tying five assists… Jeremy Lin also finished with 26 points and five assists along with five rebounds… P.J. Hairston knocked down a career-high 20 points and tied a career high with 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and second overall as a NBA player… Marvin Williams chipped in four points and pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds… Spencer Hawes added two points, a season-high-tying 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals… Derrick Williams led the Knicks in both scoring (19 points) and rebounding (14)… Kristaps Porzingis tallied 13 points, four rebounds and a game-high three blocks… Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo each finished with 10 points… Carmelo Anthony tallied just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting along with six rebounds, two assists and three turnovers… Jose Calderon chipped in six points, four rebounds and a game-high seven assists… Charlotte knocked down 32-of-37 shots from the charity stripe (86.5 percent) while the Knicks hit just 19-of-32 free throws (59.4 percent)… New York edged out Charlotte in the rebounding battle, 51-49.
Hornets Player of the Game Filling in for the injured Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lin put together a huge performance for Charlotte as he tallied a game-high-tying 26 points, five rebounds, and a team-high-tying five assists in the Hornets’ win. Lin scored 20-or-more points for the third time this season and also converted a season-best 10-of-10 attempts from the free-throw line.
Knicks Player of the Game Derrick Williams had a monster game off the bench for the Knicks, finishing with a team-high 19 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists for his second double-double of the season. The 14 rebounds is also a season high for Williams and just two off his career best of 16 set against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 13, 2013.
Game Notes Nicolas Batum (toe), Cody Zeller (shoulder) and Jeremy Lamb (toe) did not play for Charlotte… Lance Thomas (knee) did not play for New York… Knicks head coach Derek Fisher was whistled for a technical foul in the second quarter… These teams will conclude their season series on April 6 in New York.
Next Up The Hornets will kick off a four-game road trip against the Kings at 10 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25 in Sacramento. This game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets
