Postgame Coverage: Game Gallery | Fashion Gallery | Graham Highlights | Coach Borrego | Terry Rozier | P.J. Washington
One night after their buzzer-beating home win over Detroit, the Charlotte Hornets took the theatrics on the road as Devonte’ Graham’s three-pointer with two seconds remaining sealed a dramatic 103-102 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden.
Graham finished the night with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting, knocking down a career-high 9-of-16 three-point attempts in the process. His beyond-the-arc outburst was one shy of matching Kemba Walker’s single-game franchise record and is tied for the most threes by any NBA player in a game this season (James Harden vs. Chicago on Nov. 9).
Trailing 64-49 with nine minutes left in the third, the Hornets uncorked a 31-14 run to give themselves an 80-78 lead by the 10:17 mark of the fourth. New York retaliated with a 10-0 stretch of its own, which Charlotte countered with seven straight points to get back within one. Both teams essentially went blow for blow the rest of the evening, until the Hornets finally got a much-needed stop down two with 12 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, PJ Washington got the ball to Graham on a perfect bounce pass, which the second-year guard fired off and rattled into the basket from above the break with 2.1 seconds to go on the clock. New York had one last attempt on the other end, but Julius Randle couldn’t get the shot off in time.
“PJ told me last night I couldn’t shoot because I went 2-of-12,” said a grinning Graham moments after the win. “I had to come back tonight and prove him wrong. I need to shoot like that every game. It motivated me for sure. We just have to try and keep it going, ride the wave, get better and hopefully get another dub next game.”
“We’ve been a resilient group all year,” added Hornets Head Coach James Borrego. “They just believe in each other, trust each other, trust what we’re doing. We’ve been in every game and finding ways to execute down the stretch is key in this league. You’ve got to find different ways to win and I’m really proud of our guys.”
Washington tallied 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and three assists, with Terry Rozier (16), Marvin Williams (13) and Malik Monk (12) also posting double-digit scoring performances. Nic Batum returned from an 11-game absence, racking up team-high totals in both rebounds (9), assists (6) and plus-minus (+18).
As for New York, rookie R.J. Barrett had a team-high 22 points and Mitchell Robinson recorded his first double-double of the season with 17 points and game-high 12 rebounds. Marcus Morris Sr. and Bobby Portis each had 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Randle added another 12.
Charlotte had a season-low turnover total for the second consecutive night (10) and shot 17-of-48 from three-point range (35.4%). New York won the battle in second-chance scoring (19-10) paint points (46-36) and on the boards (48-42).
The Hornets will now look to make it three straight wins when they head north of the border to face the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors on Monday, Nov. 18 starting at 7:30 PM EST. Catch the game on Fox Sports Southeast or listen on WFNZ 610 or the Hornets App.