After great success at The Garden, the Knicks found they still have issues to solve on the road. Once again a slow start did them in, as the Hornets opened with a 15-2 advantage and led by as many as 21 points in the first quarter. “That’s probably where the game was lost right there,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said.
Sure, his team rallied over the next two quarters — sparked by Brandon Jennings off the bench — to climb back into the game. The Knicks even held a fourth quarter lead at 84-82, but the Hornets got big moments out of role players such as Jeremy Lamb (18 points, 17 rebounds) and Frank Kamensky, who drilled a pair of back-breaking three-pointers late to hold off the comeback effort.
Kristaps Porzingis led the way with 25 points but was just 1 for 5 in the fourth quarter. A night after one of his best games as a Knick, Carmelo Anthony struggled with 18 points on 7 of 25 shooting. The team shot 37.8% from the field.
The Knicks (8-8), fell to 1-6 on the road this season. The trouble with their road performances involves their poor starts. Remember in the previous road game — at Washington — the Knicks were felled by a sluggish start. Overall, the Knicks are allowing 28.6 points per game in the first quarters on the road, which is the fifth-highest in the NBA. It is by far their worst defensive quarter.
So a three-game winning streak ends, but the Knicks do have another winning streak on the line come Monday when Russell Westbrook and the Thunder come to The Garden. The Knicks have won six straight games at MSG. When was the last time they won seven straight at home?
Watch us on Knicks Game Night at 7 p.m. on Monday night to find out!
