GALLERY: Photo GalleryVIDEOS: Team Highlights | Walker Highlights | James Borrego | Kemba Walker | Cody Zeller
Since their memorable Big East and National Championship run in 2011, playing at Madison Square Garden has always been special for Charlotte’s UConn connection, Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb. It was here that the Huskies went on their memorable five-game run in five days, and a little bit of that magic seems to follow Walker and Lamb when they take the court in New York. This was again the case as Walker (25) and Lamb (19) combined for 44 points as the Hornets pick up their second-straight win, 119-107, on Sunday at MSG to move back to .500 overall (13-13).
After keeping things close in the first quarter, taking a 27-24 lead after 12 minutes of play, Charlotte found its groove in the second frame to break the game open. The Hornets outscored New York, 34-23, in the quarter sparked by 6-of-12 shooting from outside the arc as a team. Walker led the way from outside the arc, connecting on 3-of-5 attempts and finishing with 14 points in the stanza. Walker also added three rebounds, three steals and two assists in the frame as he directed the action. He finished the game with contributions all over the box score - 25 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.
“Kemba had a great second quarter and third quarter,” Hornets Head Coach James Borrego said. “Then Lamb, he’s just getting more comfortable as a secondary ball handler. He’s our second-leading scorer and getting to the rim. He’s scoring for us when we go dry at times.”
It was Lamb’s turn to take control in the third as Charlotte opened the quarter on a 16-2 run to push their lead to 77-49. Lamb sparked the run with eight points on his own and finished the quarter with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field while also adding four rebounds and one steal. Walker also did his part, adding nine points on 3-of-7 shooting in the third.
“There have been games where we start the (second) half a little lackadaisical and we didn’t want to do that today,” said Lamb. “We wanted to keep the energy up and keep the pressure on. That’s what we did.”
With a comfortable 99-78 cushion built by quarter’s end, the Hornets would coast to victory in fourth, never losing their double-digit advantage on the way to their fourth road win of the season.
Tony Parker (16), Marvin Williams (13) and Cody Zeller (12) also finished scoring in double figures for the Hornets, while Kevin Knox led the way for the Knicks with 26 points.
Charlotte got things done defensively, as well. The Hornets swiped a season-high 11 steals, leading to 17 New York turnovers that Charlotte converted into 27 points. The Hornets also outrebounded the Knicks, 42-41, and outscored New York, 54-40, in the paint.
“I think our defense overall was solid tonight,” said Borrego. “We wanted to win the paint. This is a very good rebounding team. We we won the paint and won the boards tonight and kept them off those second-chance points, so that was an emphasis going into the game and we delivered. I thought the guys were great from start to finish. It was a good team win.”
Charlotte now returns home to open its longest homestand of the season (five games) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday against Detroit at Spectrum Center.