After failing to ward off the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday, the Knicks were not going to let the same happen against the Hornets at home the next day.
Although the Hornets pulled within three after a one-sided second quarter, the Knicks hunkered down and took care of business, defeating Charlotte 119-104 on Wednesday night.
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New York started the second quarter up 15 points, but by the end of the first half, they had just a six-point lead. On the second of a back-to-back, the Knicks could have let the Hornets’ get to them, but Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns weren’t going to have it. Brunson scored 26 points on 56 percent shooting, a nice bounce back from his season-low performance against the Celtics.
While the Knicks big man scored a game-high 35 points and added 18 rebounds.
“JB draws a lot of attention. Our team did a good job of utilizing the gravity when he was on the court and getting some good looks, getting some turnovers,” Towns said of the team’s effort. “I thought we did a great job defensively, making them speed up their game and playing Knicks basketball, which is translate turnovers to offense.”
“We could have easily chalked it up and said we tried,” Brunson added. “Continue to fight, continue to stick together. Find a way to make plays defensively, got out in the open court, a good way to bounce back tonight.”
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Towns shot 13 of 23 from the field (3-for-7 from three) and often dominated the smaller Hornets lineup. But gave credit to the Knicks captain for his offensive outburst.
“When you got one of the best players league like JB, like I said, the gravity he attracts, it allows us a chance to do something special,” he said. “Taking opportunities the defense was giving me, while doing that, being aggressive, whether it was scoring or passing to my teammates.”
Dec 3, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) and New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) fight for a loose ball in the second quarter at Madison Square Garden / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Reason for Josh Hart starting
Wednesday was Hart’s sixth straight game starting. With OG Anunoby out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, head coach Mike Brown has decided to shift Hart into the starting lineup, but it took some time for the first-year Knicks coach to pull the trigger.
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Hart started most of the games last year, but began the season as a bench player. The combo guard/forward has accepted whatever role Brown gives him, but the Knicks coach said the decision was thanks from a push by his staff.
“I rely on my staff. I had reasons why I started [Hart on the bench], but my staff, all of them, was like ‘hey, these are the reasons why it would be better,’” Brown explained. “The reality of it is, I just listen to my staff. If I’m the only one thinking it would be better at that time, then maybe I’m wrong.
“I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again in the future. That’s what I love about my staff, we have guys who are not afraid…to tell me what they think. I’m not always going to listen to them, but if my whole staff is telling me something, I better open my eyes and ears and figure out what they are really trying to say and maybe follow their lead instead of my lead all the time.”
Hart scored 15 points on 4 of 11 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes on Wednesday. He’s averaging 17 points per game since he was inserted into the starting lineup, while he scored just 12.5 points per game while on the bench this season.
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Yabusele’s changing role
Guerschon Yabusele has been a solid bench piece in his first year in New York, but his role has seeming changed as the season has gone along. Brown was asked about Yabusele not being used as a ball-screener like he was in the beginning of the season, and the head coach had an explanation for it.
“Our five is usually the one that’s setting the screens. He’s playing the four right now,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of ways he can get involved as the four. For instance, on a made bucket, if he takes it out he’s going to be involved in the action right away. It all depends on where he is and where he’s sprinting to as we’re going down the floor determines how much he’ll be involved. It’s hard to get pick-and-pop stuff with the way we play if you’re not playing that center spot.”
