NBA: Hornets snap Knicks' win streak behind Kon Knueppel's big outing

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Kon Knueppel scored 26 points and added 11 rebounds and eight assists on Thursday to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 114-103 win over the visiting New York Knicks.

LaMelo Ball contributed 22 points, while Brandon Miller added 21 for Charlotte (39-34), which extended its winning streak to five games. Coby White and Miles Bridges chipped in 17 points each as the Hornets sit in a three-way tie with the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jalen Brunson paced New York (48-26) with 26 points and 13 assists. OG Anunoby added 17 points, Josh Hart 16, Mikal Bridges 14, and Karl-Anthony Towns 13 as the Knicks saw their seven-game winning streak end.

Charlotte led by 10 at halftime, a margin that grew to 77-62 in the third quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers from Ball and Knueppel. New York briefly cut the deficit to 11, but Grant Williams’ three-pointer capped a 7-0 run that gave the Hornets a 94-76 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Knicks pulled within 13 on Anunoby’s trey, but Moussa Diabate’s dunk at the 9:39 mark sparked a 7-0 Charlotte run, extending the lead to 104-83. Brunson’s three-point play and Hart’s five consecutive points trimmed it to 10 with 2:20 left, but Bridges’ dunk with 40 seconds remaining sealed the Hornets’ win.

Charlotte grabbed an early 10-point lead in the first quarter on Knueppel’s layup, but New York responded with a 20-10 run to tie the score at 34 on Mohamed Diawara’s 3-pointer. The Hornets shot 70% from the field (14-for-20) in the first quarter to lead 38-36.

After Anunoby’s jumper brought the Knicks within one, Bridges’ three-point play sparked an 8-0 run for Charlotte. Miller’s 3-pointer and White’s jumper closed the first half, giving the Hornets a 65-55 lead. Bridges and Miller each had 13 first-half points, while Brunson led New York with 17.

—Field Level Media/Reuters