Knicks survive for one-point win over Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Black Friday, the Knicks found themselves matched up with a discount rack version of the Charlotte Hornets. And then they found themselves scrambling to survive.

Not all that long after they’d finished off the team Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, they took the floor at the Spectrum Center for a noon game and trailed for much of the contest, fighting the effects of a long trip and a holiday dinner before finally clawing their way to a 99-98 win.

The victory gave them a 3-2 record on their five-game, 10-day trip (and a 3-0 record in NBA Cup play) and allowed them to take some positives out of what had threatened to be their worst loss of the season.

“Outside looking in, obviously [they’ve] got some key guys out,” Josh Hart said. “And they think, that’s going to be an easy game. That’s not how the NBA works. That’s a good team with good young guys. Early start. Guys get shots. They go out there and got nothing to lose. So sometimes that’s the toughest games. So we’re happy to come out with a W, end the road trip with a win and keep it moving.”

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks (11-8) with 31 points, including 11 of their final 15 in the last 4:48, and six assists.   Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and Deuce McBride scored 14 points off the bench. Hart added 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists along with a number of hustle plays that helped lift the Knicks from what looked like a night spent in the lounger after eating too many plates of Thanksgiving dinner.

For the second straight game, the Knicks scored only 15 points in the first quarter, recording more turnovers (eight) than field goals made (six). But the last game was against the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks. This was an injury-depleted Hornets squad missing LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards, Mark Williams and Grant Williams.

“It was an early start, changing time zones and all that stuff,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So find a way to win and get it done . . .  I know how hard they're going to play. I know the personnel on their team. I felt it was going to be a physical game and we were going to need energy — a lot of it — and so we just kept working the game, working the game and then found a way to win down the stretch.”

The Knicks never led in the fourth quarter until Brunson dropped in a jumper in the lane to put them ahead 86-85. McBride then stole the ball and broke away for a dunk and a three-point lead, and it was just trying to hang on from there.

 Brandon Miller (20 points) hit two free throws with 11.4 seconds left to bring the Hornets (6-13) within two, but Brunson sank two free throws with 8.6 seconds left for a four-point lead. Josh Green hit a  three-pointer as time expired, with the backboard lighting up to signify the end of the game as the ball spun around  the rim multiple times before finally dropping through the net.

The Knicks trailed 23-15 after one and still were down 49-46 at the half thanks to another example of being outhustled by the Hornets' bench pieces pushed into starring roles.  Green hit a jumper with 1.1 seconds left in the half to give the Hornets the lead and Mikal Bridges' lazy inbounds pass was picked off by Green, who sank a turnaround jumper as time expired.

If a lesson was learned, it wasn't reflected in the Knicks' play in the third quarter as they still couldn’t shake the Hornets. Hart's three-pointer gave the Knicks a lead with 30.6 seconds left in the quarter, but K.J. Simpson's three-pointer put the Hornets ahead 72-71.

“It’s a weird schedule,” Brunson said. “But there’s no complaints and you can’t change it, so we’ve got to go out and find a way. We came out really soft, made some runs, and then they made some shots where it looked like they just were going to get away from us. We kept fighting and found a way to get a win. So a win’s a win and we learn from it.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.