Knicks-Hornets Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Nov 19 2012 12:13PM

Having bounced back from their first loss, the New York Knicks may be poised to start stringing together wins again.

The Knicks open a three-game trip looking to hand the New Orleans Hornets a fourth consecutive defeat Tuesday night.

Two days after a 105-95 loss to Memphis, New York (7-1) defeated Indiana 88-76 on Sunday. Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and nine rebounds as the Knicks overcame a season-low 36.7-percent shooting performance thanks to another strong defensive effort.

New York, which led by as many as 20, held the Pacers to 30 first-half points while forcing 19 turnovers and limiting them to 39.4 percent shooting overall.

"Last year we let this game slip away," said center Tyson Chandler, who pulled down nine rebounds. "It's definitely the maturity of the team and obviously the maturity of the players. We got a lot of vets around here that understand that these games add up.

"These are the games at the end of the year when you are in that dog fight and jockeying for position, these are the games that put you over or under."

New York ranks among the NBA leaders in allowing 90.0 points per game and holding opponents to 43.0 percent shooting.

"On the defensive end for us to be in sync the way we are right now, especially this early in the season, that's a good thing," Anthony said. "We want to keep building on that."

Anthony has 46 points in the last two games after he was held to nine in a win over San Antonio on Thursday. He's averaged 26.3 and 46.0 percent shooting in 12 road games against the Hornets.

A groin injury kept Anthony out of an 89-85 loss to New Orleans on Feb. 17 that snapped New York's six-game winning streak in the series. The Knicks, 3-1 on the road this season, have won three straight in New Orleans by an average of 10.4 points.

The Hornets have given up 109.0 points a contest during their three-game skid, falling 117-113 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday. New Orleans allowed 88.6 in its first five contests.

Anthony Davis had a career-high 28 points with 11 rebounds and Ryan Anderson scored 20 off the bench as New Orleans shot a season-high 53.2 percent. However, it committed 20 turnovers and allowed the Bucks to go 13 of 25 from 3-point range.

The Hornets' last three opponents have shot 44.6 percent from beyond the arc.

"We'll fix it," Davis said. "We'll go back to the drawing board, look at film and see what we can do better.

"We stayed in the game (Saturday) the whole time. We had the lead sometimes. We've got to learn from our mistakes. We've got to talk more. Our communication's got to get better."

The rookie was 10 of 14 from the field after going 6 of 21 and scoring 16 points in his previous two games.

Acquired from Orlando in the offseason, Anderson has averaged 20.0 points and 54.1 percent shooting in the last four contests.

Surging Knicks easily top Hornets, 102-80

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Nov 21 2012 1:09AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and the New York Knicks extended the undermanned New Orleans Hornets' losing streak to four games with a 102-80 victory Tuesday night.

Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith each added 15 points. Felton scored all of his points on five 3-pointers as New York hit 14 3s as a team.

Tyson Chandler grabbed 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who've won two straight since their first loss of the season and are 8-1 for only the third time in franchise history. The other two times, the 1969-70 and 1972-73 seasons, they won championships.

Ryan Anderson, starting in place of Anthony Davis, led the Hornets with 15 points. Davis was ruled out shortly before tip-off because tenderness in his left ankle.

Rookie Austin Rivers added a career-high 14 points and Brian Roberts 13 for New Orleans.

It might not have mattered much if the Hornets had Davis' shot blocking ability at their disposal. The Knicks scored only 20 points in the paint, but still shot 44.6 percent (37 of 83) thanks to stellar jump shooting. They finished 14 of 36 (38.9 percent) from 3-point range.

The Knicks came in attempting just more than 26 3s a game this season and seem to have figured out the art of positioning themselves for long rebounds off of missed perimeter shots. New York had 13 offensive rebounds, 17 second-chance points and badly outrebounded New Orleans overall, 49-36.

The Knicks led most of the game, going up 12, at 29-17 at the end of the opening quarter while the Hornets went more than four minutes without scoring.

Anthony scored 19 on 8 of 9 shooting in the first quarter alone, taking advantage of his matchup against rookie Darius Miller later in the period. At one point, Anthony spun past Miller on the dribble and drained a floater in the lane while being fouled by Hornets 7-foot Jason Smith.

The Knicks led by 14 early in the second quarter before the Hornets briefly made it competitive again with a 13-0 run. The spurt included two 3s by Anderson, the second giving New Orleans a 36-34 lead.

It was still as close as 43-42 late in the second quarter after a tough driving floater by Rivers, but Felton made a pair of quick 3s during an 8-0 run that also included an 18-footer by Anthony, and the Knicks were quickly back up by nine before taking a 53-48 lead into halftime.

New York then opened the third quarter on a 10-4 run that included another Anthony jumper and Ronnie Brewer's 3 to make it 63-52. The lead remained in double digits from there on, growing as large as 26 on James White's fast-break dunk in the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Davis is day to day and he is traveling with the Hornets on a four-game road trip that begins Wednesday night at Indiana. ... Knicks coach Mike Woodson was called for a technical foul in the first quarter by official Scott Foster. Woodson and Foster could be seen bickering shortly before the technical was assessed. ... Anthony has led New York in scoring in eight of the Knicks' first nine games. ...The Hornets have now given up 100 or more points in each loss during their current four-game skid.

Notebook: Knicks 102, Hornets 80

Bradley Handwerger, for NBA.com
Posted Tue Nov 20, 2012 11:20 PM - Updated Tue Nov 20, 2012 11:20 PM

THE FACTS: The New York Knicks earned their seventh win by double digits, coasting to a 102-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets on the first night of a three-game road swing. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 29 points, 23 coming in the first half, and New York (8-1) outrebounded New Orleans by 13 as the Hornets (3-6) were forced to play without rookie Anthony Davis, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury.

The Knicks, who entered the game averaging 26 3-point attempts per game, fired off 36 and it paid dividends. New York converted 14, helping the Knicks score all but 18 of their 102 points from outside the paint. New Orleans cut the Knicks halftime lead to four points less than two minutes into the third quarter, but then New York went on a run that never really ended. J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton both scored 15 points and former Hornet Tyson Chandler had 12 rebounds to go with seven points.

For New Orleans, Ryan Anderson's 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting was a team high. Brian Roberts added 13 off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "Every single night has to be our style of basketball. We've got to be willing to lose playing our style. Win or lose, we've got to ride the same way every single night. Then you know we can walk in this locker room feeling OK. It has to be consistent every game."

-- Knicks' Tyson Chandler

THE STAT: 100 -- For the fourth straight game, the Hornets allowed at least 100 points. And New Orleans is 0-4 in that stretch. The slide has happened as the Hornets have gone from allowing 83.5 point per game over the first four games to 105.6 the past five. The Hornets haven't allowed 100 points in four straight games since April 2010.

TURNING POINT: Ryan Anderson hit a 20-foot shot to pull New Orleans to within 56-52 early in the third quarter. And then the Knicks went on a run. Anthony hit two free throws, and then followed them up with a jumper. A minute later, Ronnie Brewer sank a 3-pointer and Chandler hit a free throw and the Knicks were suddenly up 64-52. The Hornets never cut the deficit to fewer than 10 after that.

HOT: Anthony entered Tuesday night's game averaging more than 23 points. He had that in the first half thanks to a scorching first quarter, when he shot 8-for-9, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. He finished the first quarter with 19 points on his way to a game-high 29.

QUOTABLE II: "We've got to get it together. It's hurting us. It's four losses in a row. You don't want to take that. You don't want to get used to losing."

--Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez

GOOD MOVE: In the second quarter, Hornets coach Monty Williams chose to play a smaller, guard-based lineup and it worked. New Orleans cut a 14-point deficit down. New Orleans outscored the Knicks 31-24 in the second 12 minutes. Ultimately, New York's outside shooting was enough to overcome this move.

NOTABLE: New York's 36 3-point attempts tied an NBA season high, set by the Knicks on Nov. 2 against Miami. ... Anthony's 29 points gave him at least 20 points in eight of New York's nine games this season. ... Spike Lee was in attendance to watch the Knicks play a road game. ... The Hornets failed to reach 90 points for the fourth time this season.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Wednesday @ Indiana, Friday @ Phoenix, Sunday @ Denver. For the Knicks, Wednesday @ Dallas, Friday @ Houston, Sunday vs. Detroit.

• Knicks: Shumpert, Stoudemire
• Hornets: Gordon

• Knicks: Woodson
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #6 Tony Brown, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 13705
• Duration: 2:08