Kon Knueppel and LaMelo Ball celebrate | Credit: IMAGO/Icon Sportswire
Charlotte Hornets snap New York Knicks' win streak behind Kon Knueppel's big outing
Kon Knueppel had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on Thursday to help the Charlotte Hornets earn a 114-103 victory over the visiting New York Knicks.
LaMelo Ball added 22 points and Brandon Miller scored 21 for Charlotte (39-34), which won its fifth straight game.
Coby White and Miles Bridges chipped in 17 points each for the Hornets, who sit in a three-way tie with the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jalen Brunson led New York (48-26) with 26 points and 13 assists, followed by OG Anunoby's 17 points and Josh Hart's 16.
Mikal Bridges scored 14 points and Karl-Anthony Towns tallied 13 for the Knicks, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped.
The Hornets' 10-point halftime lead grew to 77-62 on Ball and Knueppel's back- to-back 3-pointers.
New York narrowed the deficit to 11, but Grant Williams' triple stamped a 7-0 run to close the third and give the Hornets a 94-76 lead entering the final quarter.
Anunoby's trey pulled the Knicks within 13, before Moussa Diabate's dunk at the 9:39 mark of the fourth began a 7-0 spurt that gave Charlotte its largest lead to that point at 104-83.
Brunson's three-point play and Hart's five straight points cut the deficit to 10 with 2:20 left, but Bridges' dunk with 40 seconds remaining sealed the comfortable win.
Charlotte grabbed an early 10-point lead on Knueppel's layup midway through the first quarter.
New York answered with a 20-10 run to knot the score at 34 on Mohamed Diawara's 3-pointer. Charlotte shot 70% (14-for-20) from the field in the first quarter to take a 38-36 lead.
After Anunoby's mid-range jumper brought New York within a point, Bridges' three-point play sparked an 8-0 run to give the Hornets a 58-49 lead.
Miller's 3-pointer and White's jumper closed the opening half to give the Hornets a 65-55 halftime lead. Bridges and Miller each had 13 first-half points for Charlotte, while Brunson's 17 paced the Knicks.
--Field Level Media