Derek Fisher's team of road warriors nearly did it again tonight, coming just milliseconds from a third straight win and fourth in five tries away from The Garden.
Down two with 0.6 seconds on the clock, Kristaps Porzingis received the inbounds pass at the top of the key, got a clean look and drained the long bomb that would've given the Knicks the victory. But after watching the replay, officials ruled that the ball was still on his fingertips as time expired; Charlotte had escaped with a comeback, 95-93 win.
It was a heartbreaking way to lose after the Knicks had built multiple double-digit leads throughout the night, showing once again that they are built to fight for 48 minutes. It was fitting that the game came down to the wire, as both teams showed heart the second night of back-to-backs.
Arron Afflalo made his regular season debut after missing the first eight games with a hamstring, and showed no signs of rust with 12 points -- including an offensive rebound and clutch buckets to tie the game at two points in the final minutes -- and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes. Carmelo Anthony had perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 15 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter on 12-of-25 shooting.
As a team, New York shot 48.8 percent from the field despite going 0-for-11 from 3 in the first half and 4-for-21 for the game. It was another team effort, with rookies Kristaps Porzingis (10 points and 15 boards) and Jerian Grant (five assists) making significant contributions on both ends of the floor. But it wasn't quite enough, as Nicolas Batum (24 points) turned in an all-around performance and Chalotte's Jeremys (Lin and Lamb) combined for 32 points off the bench.