NEW YORK_Jeff Hornacek wanted to see a little extra fire in his players' eyes. He got his wish, and the New York Knicks did something they hadn't done in seven weeks _ a home victory.
It was a rare sight with Knicks' players jumping off the bench and waving their towels. They haven't had much to cheer lately.
March Madness, indeed.
The Knicks built a 38-point second-half lead and coasted to a 124-101 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. This is not a misprint. The Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak overall and eight-game home skid.
Their last win at the Garden was Jan. 30 over the Brooklyn Nets.
The Knicks may not be playing for anything, but they were playing for something Saturday night. They played with energy, shared the ball, defended and like a team that wanted to experience a win for a change. This was just their second victory in the last 19 games for the Knicks (25-45).
They're one of the worst third-quarter teams in the league, but they outscored the Hornets 42-17 in the third. It was their highest-scoring quarter of the season.
This won't help the Knicks' draft position. They were all alone with the eighth-worst record before this game, but pulled into a tie with the Bulls, who played Cleveland Saturday night. Chicago visits the Garden Monday in a big swing game for lottery position.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Knicks with 25 points. Rookie Frank Ntilikina scored a career-high 15 points. Trey Burke added 14. Troy Williams scored 13. Undrafted rookie forward Isaiah Hicks shot 5-for-5 and had a career-high 12 points.
The Knicks were so comfortably in control, Hornacek put veteran Jarrett Jack in the game in the fourth quarter to close it out. It was no slight on Jack. He started 56 games, but he hadn't played in the past 10 games with the Knicks giving more time to the young players.
Dwight Howard had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte (30-40). Former Knick Willy Hernangomez had nine points and six rebounds in 12 garbage-time minutes in his first game back at the Garden since being traded to Charlotte.
Hornacek believes if the players hate to lose more than they want to win they will make the necessary plays. He expressed that to his team Friday. Hornacek said a few Knicks had that mentality, particularly Lance Thomas, Hardaway and Enes Kanter.
"It's that extra fire that you see in a guy's eyes," Hornacek said. "If they really want it, they'll do what it takes. Someone who values the game more than just a game. It's about doing whatever it takes to win. Not playing the game and going 'OK there's going to be another one tomorrow night.' Play it like it's your last game because who knows, you might get hurt and you might never play again."
"We have a few guys that are doing it but it's got to be all 12 guys out there."
For one night, the Knicks had that mentality.
The Knicks were without starter Courtney Lee, who was out of town attending the funeral of a family member. That gave Hornacek an opportunity to switch up the starting lineup.
He was considering making a switch anyway since starting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay hasn't played well, especially defensively. But Hornacek stuck with Emmanuel Mudiay over Trey Burke and Ntilikina. The change came up front.
Hornacek shifted Hardaway to shooting guard, and played Thomas, Michael Beasley and Kanter up front. But it was the younger players coming off the bench that helped the Knicks to a 57-50 lead at halftime.
They got good minutes from Burke, Ntilikina, Williams, Hicks and Luke Kornet. They combined to shoot 14-for-25 and score 35 points. Hardaway led the Knicks with 12 points. The rest of the team was 5-for-20 with 10 points.
Leading at halftime is nothing new for the Knicks. This was the seventh time in the last 10 games the Knicks were up at halftime. The second half has been their downfall on most nights.
They led by eight at the half and 13 in the third quarter Thursday against the 76ers and fell apart down the stretch. This time the collapse didn't come.
The Knicks played their best third quarter in weeks. Coming into the game, the Knicks were the fourth-worst team in the NBA in third-quarter differential. They were a plus-25 against Charlotte and never looked back.
