By Shane Skeary, hornets.com
THE RESULT
After losing big in their first meeting to New York in Las Vegas, Justin Brownlee (16 points) and P.J. Hairston (15 points) led the way for Hornets as they returned the favor to the Knicks in an 82-79victory, ousting undefeated New York from tournament play at the 2014 Samsung NBA Summer League. It was Charlotte’s third-straight win, and the Hornets now advance to the semifinals on July 19 at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
TURNING POINTS
This game that featured ups and downs from the Hornets, including a 15-point lead in the second quarter followed by 16-3 run by the Knicks to erase that lead. However, Charlotte survived New York’s offensive flurry and cling to a 39-37 lead at halftime. They would keep it the rest of the way, despite making it close in the final seconds. Justin Brownlee and Mickey McConnell would hit key free throws to seal the win for Charlotte.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
This game was the exact opposite of the lopsided loss the Hornets suffered almost a week ago. Charlotte shot better percentages than New York from the field (40.0 to 34.9 percent), from deep (34.8 to 22.7 percent) and from the stripe (84.6 to 76.2 percent)… Led by point guards Mickey McConnell (6) and Roberto Nelson (5), the Hornets generated good ball movement to generate 17 assists. The Knicks dished out just 11… Charlotte was able to do a better job limiting fouls as they committed 24 compared to 27 for New York. Those 27 fouls resulted in 26 free throw chances for the Hornets, which they were able to take advantage of… The Knicks were able outmuscle the Hornets on the boards for the second-straight game. New York led in rebounding figures 44-36 over Charlotte, including 22 offensive rebounds.
HORNETS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Without Cody Zeller in the lineup, Noah Vonleh took saw his touches increase and took advantage. He recorded his second double-double of the 2014 Samsung Summer League finishing with 12 points (5-of-11 shooting) and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes for Charlotte in the win.
KNICKS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tim Hardaway Jr. caught fire early, but was held in check in the second half. He had a game-high 25 points in 29 minutes for the Knicks in defeat.
GAME NOTES
The Hornets reach .500 in summer league play (3-3) and will advance to the quarterfinals of the 2014 Samsung Summer League Tournament… P.J. Hairston was the center of Charlotte’s offense as he reached double-figures for the fifth-straight game (15 points)… Justin Brownlee also continues to have an effective summer for the Hornets, he filled up the stat sheet with team-high 16 points, three rebounds, two assists two blocks and a steal… Rion Brown (10 points) finished in double-figures for the second-straight game. Brown also finished an alley-oop slam from Roberto Nelson, which was the Play of the Game... The Hornets are the only team to make the quarterfinals (and now the semifinals) of the Summer League tournament both last year and this year… The Hornets were without Cody Zeller, who was held out of the game.
NEXT UP
The 23rd seeded Hornets will take on the winner of the Houston Rockets game in the semifinals of the 2014 Samsung Summer League Tournament on July 20 at 6 p.m. EST in Las Vegas.