The last time the Hornets and the Knicks met, the game surprisingly swung in favor of New York, which even inflicted a correction on the franchise held by Michael Jordan. The reunion between the two teams on Monday in Charlotte offered a different scenario, and much more pleasant in terms of entertainment. For the occasion, Charlotte has found Nicolas Batum, injured ten days ago against the Knicks. The winger was not the most visible (9 points at 3/5, 3 rebounds, 4 wt) and remained on the bench especially for the breathless finale of the match between the two teams, a pocket of ice around the tendon of Left Achilles sore. The tricolor winger thus saw his team win in overtime (137-128) in a match marked by the individual performance of Trey Burke in the Knicks field (42 points at 19/31, 12 wt).
Charlotte still hopes
Kemba Walker rose to the occasion collecting 11 points and 3 assists in just five additional minutes to help his team win. In the internal sector Dwight Howard also weighed (23 points, 13 rebounds) while Charlotte’s bench was prolific (52 points against 24 of that of New York). On the visiting side, Michael Beasley (27 points, 8 rebounds) and Enes Kanter (15 points, 13 rebounds) struggled, in vain. Frank Ntilikina (12 points at 6/10, 3 wt) ended up frustrated, forced to join the bench for a 6th foul with 10 minutes left.
On an accounting level, the Charlotte Hornets aren’t eliminated from the playoff race yet, and their four-game winning streak could allow them to rekindle the suspense a bit. However, it will take a very favorable combination of circumstances to see them cling to eighth place in the Eastern Conference, currently occupied by Miami, which has five more wins with 8 games left to play (and 7 for the Hornets). Charlotte will also put together three very complicated matches (Cleveland, Washington, Philadelphia), which could soon end any hopes of qualifying.
