110
82
Last Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, the Charlotte Hornets would notch their 5th straight win, with a 110-82 demolishing of the New York Knicks to improve their record on the year to 15-21 overall.
The number one reason why they won in impressive fashion: playing good basketball, and of course, Kemba Walker continuing his impressive roll that earned him Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors recently, as he would finish the game on Saturday with 28 points to lead the way for the Hornets in the win, Charlotte also saw several more players get into the act in the win, including Bismack Biyombo, who played exceptionally well for the Hornets with a double-double(14 points and 12 rebounds), while Brian Roberts had a solid day for Charlotte off the bench with 14 as well. P.J. Hairston saw some action, going 6-of-12 from the field in his 22 minutes of action to end up with 15 and rounding out the group of double-figure scorers for the Hornets was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with 10.
And for the Knicks, who have already raised the "White Flag", they were led by Quincy Acy and his 18 point outing. Tomorrow night, the Hornets will look for their sixth straight win of the season, as they welcome in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs to Time Warner Cable Arena for a 7:00 start, as Charlotte will open up a stretch of playing 5 of their next 6 games at "The Hive".
Charlotte Hornets(14-24) vs. New York Knicks(5-34)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last 2 meetings: Charlotte 103, New York 102(December 5th at Charlotte); New York 96, Charlotte 93(November 2nd at New York)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): NYK leads series 53-39 all-time
Today is another busy sports day here in Charlotte, as the Charlotte Hornets will make the trek to "The Big Apple" for a afternoon game against the slumping New York Knicks, before the Carolina Panthers square against the Seattle Seahawks later tonight in the NFC Divisional Playoff. The Hornets enter today's game on a 4-game winning streak, and the strong play of Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker recently, while the Knicks are on a downward spiral, losing 14 straight games. Both teams split the first 2 meetings of the 4-game set, with the Knicks prevailing on November 2nd at The Garden, while the Hornets won in thrilling fashion back on December 5th at "The Hive" on Walker's game-winning layup.
Scouting the Hornets
If there's one person that is responsible for what the Hornets have done recently, it would have to be Kemba Walker, who recently had a string of three-straight 30-plus point games, which came to an end on Wednesday night in Toronto, finishing with 29 points in Charlotte's win over the Raptors, which saw Gerald Henderson lead the way with 31 points to give the Hornets their 4th straight win. Charlotte hopes to give their fans something to cheer about today as they look for their 5th straight win by making the trek to New York to face the slumping Knicks this afternoon, and who knows, they could rub some of that luck on the Carolina Panthers later tonight in Seattle, as they take on the Seahawks.
Scouting the Knicks
It has been a downward spiral for the New York Knicks, who are already missing it's star, Carmelo Anthony and have recently traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On top of all that, they have lost 14 straight games, and fans have somewhat started to give up on the 2014-15 season for the Knicks and have began looking ahead to the 2015-16 season. New York hopes to avoid their 15th straight loss today, by welcoming in the red-hot Charlotte Hornets to Madison Square Garden.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Next Saturday: Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
January 19th: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Charlotte(2:00 p.m.)
January 21st: Miami Heat vs. Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
102
103
It was a tale of two teams that were desperately looking for a win last night before a sellout crowd of 19,102 at Time Warner Cable Arena, as the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets were needing a win badly to end their losing streak, but leave it all to Kemba Walker to deliver in the critical stages of the game, as his game-winning layup would end the 10-game losing streak for the Hornets, as they came away with a 103-102 win to go to 5-15 on the year, while handing New York it's 8th straight loss and dropping them to 4-17.
"We needed the win. It's been three weeks since we won." said Hornets head coach Steve Clifford.
Walker was quite relieved to be the person that would take the last shot of the game, and to get Charlotte on hopefully the right track after suffering a long 10-game losing skid. "Hopefully we can build off this."
Gerald Henderson got the start last night, and he would shine in the game for Charlotte, as he finished things up with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, while he was joined by Lance Stephenson and "Big Al" Jefferson, who each had 16 points, with Jefferson adding in 13 rebounds. Gary Neal was alright indeed as he did play, and finished things up with 13 on the night and rounding out the group of double-figure scorers for the Hornets was of course, the hero of the night, Kemba Walker with 11. Charlotte shot 47,7% from the field, and also dominated the rebounding game with a +7 margin(41-34).
New York was led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony, who was praising Kemba for the game-winner for Charlotte, despite his team being on the losing end of the scoreboard. "A loss is a loss and you never feel good about a loss. I don't think you can ask for more than that." Anthony said. "Kemba made a great play at the end and I tip my hat off to him." J.R. Smith chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Knicks and rounding out the trio of double-figure scorers was Tim Hardaway Jr. with 13 points.
The Hornets hope to get a winning streak going as they take on Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena.
New York Knicks(4-16) vs. Charlotte Hornets(4-15)
Time Warner Cable Arena
Friday: 7:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last meeting: New York 96, Charlotte 93(November 2nd at New York)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): NYK leads 53-38
How's this for an interesting match-up, two teams on long losing streaks will meet up at "The Hive" tonight, as the New York Knicks, losers of 6 straight, will come to town to take on the Charlotte Hornets, losers of 10 straight.
Scouting the Knicks
The New York Knicks are reeling big time, losing six straight games, with the most recent coming last night at the hands of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden, dropping a close 90-87 decision. New York hopes to break their 6-game losing skid tonight, as they look to bounce back from last night's decision and to end the skid in Charlotte against the Hornets, who too are looking to get back into the win column as well.
Scouting the Hornets
Like the Knicks, the Charlotte Hornets enter tonight on a 10-game losing streak, desperately looking for a win to get their season back on the right track. Charlotte is coming off a 102-95 loss at the hands of Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at "The Hive", despite Charlotte putting together a late charge at the end. The Hornets hope to end their long losing struggles tonight, as they try to contain Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, who are in a losing streak of their own, in this matchup of two teams that are desperately looking for a win to end their respective losing streaks.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Next Friday: Charlotte @ Memphis Grizzlies(8:00 p.m.)
Next Saturday: Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
December 15th: Charlotte @ Cleveland Cavaliers(7:00 p.m.)
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
93
96
The final few seconds of last night's match-up between the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks turned out to be very interesting, as the turning point of the game was the 5-second rule in which Charlotte didn't inbound the ball to avoid the warning, and that would eventually open the door for the Knicks to maintain their lead and to escape out of Madison Square Garden with a 96-93 win to go to 2-1 on the year, while Charlotte drops to 1-2.
Of course, everyone knows that when you face the Knicks, you have to go through Carmelo Anthony, the man that was in the center of attention last season, when his 61-point performance burned the then-Bobcats at Madison Square Garden, and last night, he eclipsed the 20,000 point plateau, while leading the way for New York with a game-high 28 point outing, as first-year coach Derek Fisher was impressed with his team's effort last night. "Their effort in trying to do what we're asking them to do is very high. Even though we're making mistakes, we are making it hard for teams to score in certain situations." Fisher said.
New York would finish the night shooting an even 50% from the field, as Anthony was joined in the victorious effort by Amar'e Stoudemire off the bench, as he went 7-of-13 from the field to finish with 17 points to go along with his 10 rebounds, and Iman Shumpert rounded out the list of double-figure scorers for the Knicks with 15 points on the night.
As for the Hornets in the loss, they were led in scoring by "Big Al" Jefferson and his 21 point outing, while Gary Neal came off the bench to add in 17 points with Kemba Walker scoring 16 and Lance Stephenson finally got into double figures for the first time in a Hornets uniform with 14 points, as the Hornets teamwise, shot 47.1% from the field, while out-rebounding the Knicks by a 38-35 margin.
Next up for the Hornets, a match-up with Anthony Davis and the Pelicans on Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for a 8:00 tip-off, before heading back home to take on Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat at Time Warner Cable Arena at 7:00 p.m. this Wednesday.
Charlotte Hornets(1-1) vs. New York Knicks(1-1)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Series history(since Hornets first season in 1988-89): NYK leads series 52-38
The Charlotte Hornets hit the road for the first time in 2014-15 as their brief 2-game road trip starts off in "The Big Apple" tonight against a new-look New York Knicks team who enters the game with a 1-1 mark of their own, while the Hornets look to bounce back from a close-fought game, which would end up in a 71-69 loss at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies last night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Scouting the Hornets
After a dramatic overtime win back on Wednesday night, the Charlotte Hornets battled hard in their game last night at home against Memphis, who in turn handed Charlotte a 71-69 loss. Charlotte now hits the road for 2 games, which begins tonight at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. The Hornets are hoping that this back end of a back-to-back set would be a successful one after a defensive-battled game last night, as Charlotte hopes to get out to a good start to the road portion of their schedule tonight in New York and again on Tuesday night in New Orleans against the Pelicans, before returning back home to "The Hive" on Wednesday to face the Miami Heat.
Scouting the Knicks
Like the Hornets, the New York Knicks enter play tonight with a 1-1 mark of their own, with a loss to Chicago on Wednesday night at The Garden, and surprisingly defeating LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Thursday night in Cleveland. New York looks to stay on the right track tonight as Carmelo and company returns home to MSG to square off against the Charlotte Hornets, who comes in to tonight's game after a tough outing last night at Time Warner Cable Arena, losing 71-69 to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Tuesday: Charlotte @ New Orleans Pelicans(8:00 p.m.)
Wednesday: Miami Heat @ Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Friday: Atlanta Hawks @ Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Next Sunday: Charlotte @ L.A. Lakers(9:30 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network
In this installment of our continuing "30 Teams in 30 Days" series of NBA team previews leading up to the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, we will begin our 2-day stay in New York by kicking things off with the New York Knicks, a team that is desperately looking to return to glory with a new coach and a new direction this upcoming season.
Last season's record: 37-45(3rd in Atlantic Division/9th in Eastern Conference
Head Coach: Derek Fisher(1st Season)
Arena: Madison Square Garden(19,812)
Website: nyknicks.com
Last season turned out to be a fork in the road for a New York Knicks team that was struggling to find it's identity along the way. Injuries would doom the team, and after finishing the year with a 37-45 mark, it would ultimately mark the end of the era for Mike Woodson in New York in just his lone year as Knicks head coach.
After the season came to it's conclusion, owner James Dolan decided to clean house, and look ahead to 2014-15 with a clean slate. The first thing he did was to bring in Phil Jackson as President of Basketball Operations for the Knicks, and he had a long, hard task of looking for a coach to restore it to the days of Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Patrick Ewing, and John Starks. He found it in Derek Fisher, who retired at the end of last season, and decided to let him take the wheel in the process of rebuilding the Knicks dynasty.
But the main reason why the Knicks want to rebuild and reload was of course, trying to keep Carmelo Anthony in the "Big Apple", and they got their wish, as they signed him to a contract extension, in the efforts and quest to make the New York Knicks a contender once again. Now the real work starts. New York is ready to make a statement that they don't want to be bottom-feeders anymore, they want to be at the top this season and in the years to come with hard word, dedication, and a commitment to do one thing: winning. If the Knicks can put all that to good use, maybe they could be good this year and that may be a good lesson for Derek Fisher to learn in his first year on the sidelines in New York this season.
Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series:
- Saturday: Brooklyn Nets
- Sunday: Philadelphia 76ers
- Monday: Washington Wizards
- Tuesday: Charlotte Hornets
