A Ray of Sunshine

Nearing the end of a dark and gloomy season, last night the Knicks showed us what their bright young core is capable of.

Good morning! Last night was a good reminder that even in the final 10 games of a year gone sideways, the Knicks can give us something to be genuinely happy about. Let’s get to it.

Game Recap: Knicks 121, Hornets 106

Well that was fun! New York went into Charlotte, winners of five straight, and completed a wire to wire victory. Playing without Randle for a second straight night and also missing Mitchell Robinson (sore lower back), the Knicks were firing on all cylinders to start, nailing eight threes and getting assists on 11 of 14 makes in a 40-point first quarter. The good times continued as New York upped the lead to 20 in the second and again briefly after halftime, but a LaMelo Ball-led charge in the late third cut the Hornets’ deficit to six. That’s when a record-setting 3-pointer by Evan Fournier pushed the lead back to nine.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing from there, as the Knicks had their customary fourth quarter stretch of futility, failing to score a field goal for over six minutes. Despite that rough patch, it never got to a two-possession game after the Fournier three, and a late flurry ended up making this one of the few comfortable wins New York has had after a mostly tight game.

3 Takeaways

⓵ This was the funnest win of the year. Did it help that they were playing the league’s 23rd ranked defense? Most certainly. Is life easier when you’re hitting 44 percent of your threes, as the Knicks did last night? Of course.