New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets
Game 48: January 27, 2017
Knicks 110, Hornets 107

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com

Trade that.

As we all know, the Knicks have been on a rough stretch as of late. Coming into tonight’s game, the Knicks had dropped 14 of their last 18 games, and the finger pointing began. Heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss put the Knicks way back in the standings, and Carmelo Anthony has been put on the trading block. Tonight, was different. After the offense went stagnant in the fourth for a stretch, Courtney Lee happened, and the Knicks took over the game. The Hornets could not withstand this burst of offense late, and the Knicks held on to win the game, 110-107.

This was one of the best wins of the season for the Knicks, and is another one of those games where they will give me false hope. Kristaps Porzingis snapped out of his shooting funk, scoring 18 points on 8-11 shooting, even though he was in foul trouble most of the game. Carmelo finished with 18 points on a rough shooting night, but he drilled a jumper to seal the deal at the end of the fourth.

It’s been a really rough month for the Knicks and their fans, and with everything seemingly going down the toilet, the Knicks pulled out a fun win. Stopping all-star guard Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, and the Hornets is a tough task, but the Knick defense stepped up in a big way in the fourth quarter. The insertion of Kyle O’Quinn was huge for the team as well, as his brand of defense was exactly what the Knicks needed. Key blocks at the end of the game, along with some big rebounds were what paced the Knick defense. No Noah in sight, I don’t even think he played in the second half, but I could be wrong.

The one negative in this game was the Derrick Rose injury. The back spasms early in the season were the only blemish on the Rose injury record for the year, and tonight another injury reared its ugly head. Even though his defense has been awful, Rose has brought a spark to the offense when he gets into the lane, and he’s been much better than Brandon Jennings this year.

Granted, Jennings was great filling in for Rose tonight, but if the Knicks want to turn this around with the current roster they have, Rose needs to be healthy.

New York goes down to Georgia and they’re looking for a game to steal, and they’ll take on the Atlanta Hawks. The last time the Knicks and Hawks played at the Garden, it was the Hawks who came away with a tough win. The Knicks will need the same contributions from Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings if they want to leave Atlanta with a win. Here’s hoping they build on this one. Don’t look now, but the Knicks are only two games out of the eighth seed. 21-27.