MUDIAY MUSIC!
Career night fuels furious rally as Knicks beat Hornets in overtime
As bad as the Knicks have been this season, they rarely fold under David Fizdale. They’re young and they play hard.
On Friday, that fight was rewarded with an improbable comeback victory.
Emmanuel Mudiay dropped a career-high 34 points as the Knicks recov- ered from a 21point deficit to stun the Hornets in overtime, 126-124, snapping a five-game losing streak.
“I love these kids. They never cease to amaze me. In both ways,” Fizdale told reporters in Charlotte. “Trust me. They do stuff where I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ And then they do stuff tonight where they don’t quit.”
In addition to trailing by double digits for much of the evening, the Knicks (921) were shorthanded with just eight healthy bodies following in-game injuries to Mitchell Robinson and Frank Ntilikina. But they still hit a 23-5 run in the fourth quarter behind the unlikely duo of Mudiay and Luke Kornet.
Mudiay scored 29 points after the first half. Kornet, who was a candidate to be cut to make room for Allonzo Trier’s contract, had his best game of the season, by far, dropping 13 points with three blocks in 24 minutes.
The Knicks decided to cut Ron Baker instead, and Friday night was a solid argument behind that decision.
“I haven’t really given him a real shot here,” Fizdale said of Kornet, who spent time in the G League this season and is the only player on the roster who has not made a start. “When I first got here, I was immediately working him out and I said I like this kid, he’s got something different than our other big guys. And that’s a good change up for us. It’s a numbers game for us trying to find minutes for each guy and it got to the point where some opportunities opened up and I could get Luke in there.”
Both teams had an opportunity to win in regulation, but Kemba Walker missed a 3-pointer for the Hornets and Mudiay’s attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.
In overtime, Mudiay hit a big shot and Walker had another opportunity for the tie – dribbling it down the entire court in four seconds to beat the buzzer — but his lay-up attempt was way off. Walker’s chance was made possible by rookie Kevin Knox missing two free throws.
Two nights earlier in Cleveland, the Knicks made a similar comeback — against a lesser team — but faltered down the stretch because, among other reasons, they couldn’t in bound the ball for their final possession.
In Charlotte, the execution was much-improved. Mudiay hit consecutive buckets in OT, one off an inbounds pass from Knox, to give the Knicks a fivepoint advantage with 17 seconds left.
“I got a lot of confidence in Mudiay,” Fizdale told reporters. “He continues to get better and better. He continues to grow as a guard. I just thought he was really clutch.”
Walker, the Bronx-born star, struggled while shooting 6-for-20 with 16 points. Knox had 20 points in 42 minutes, while Noah Vonleh added 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Knicks, who gave up 72 points in the first half, were down several players due to injury. In addition to Ntilikina and Robinson going down, Damyean Dotson (shoulder soreness), Allonzo Trier (hamstring), Trey Burke (knee) and Lance Thomas (knee) were inactive.
Ntilikina managed 15 minutes and Robinson played 8. Robinson’s sprained ankle looked more severe than Ntilkiina’s injury.