Saturday night the New York Knicks rested Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon, Robin Lopez, and Kyle O’Quinn in the second game of a back-to-back against the Charlotte Hornets.
New York started off slow with a majority of their starting lineup resting on the bench, shooting only 33% from the field in the first quarter. Kristaps Porzingis returned to the lineup but was part of the early struggles, going 1/4 from the field in the first quarter. Charlotte lead 22-16 after the opening quarter of play.
New York got hot from downtown late in the first half, going on a 9-2 run behind a couple of three-pointers from Langston Galloway and one from Cleanthony Early to give the Knicks a 41-38 lead with 3:17 left in the second quarter.
Porzingis struggled late in the second quarter, getting picked on defensively by Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker and then there was this… Porzingis picked up the loose-ball and thought he saw an opening for a highlight dunk…it was a highlight alright…a monster rejection…by Cody Zeller.
Shortly after rejecting Porzingis, Zeller outran Porzingis on the fastbreak to throw down a monster and-one dunk…
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The Hornets lead 50-48 at the half, with two players in double digits; Jefferson with 12 points and Walker with 10 points. The Knicks also had two players in double digits; Galloway with 10 points and Early with 11 points. Early continue to impress, trying to earn himself some minutes during the regular season. Early finished the game with a game-high 17 points and 4 rebounds. Derrick Williams also continue to impress, coming off the bench to score nine points in the second quarter.
In the second half, Charlotte gave all their starters a rest, playing only their bench players. Players 6-15 all got some burn for the Hornets in the second half. The Hornets got sloppy with the ball in the final four minutes of play in the third quarter, and was held to only one field goal (a tip-in). New York took advantage of this with Williams igniting a 11-3 run by hitting a three-pointer and then running out for a layup. Williams finished the game with 14 points and 5 rebounds. New York entered the final period of play with a 73-69 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, New York gave all their fridge players a chance to play. Travis Trice, DaJuan Summers, and Thanasis Antetokounmpo played almost the whole fourth quarter. The Knicks really struggled, largely due to Summers trying to do too much, trying make a name for himself. Summers tried to make the most of his opportunities, unfortunately though…going only 2/10 from the field. New York would go on to lose 97-93 as both teams played the end of their bench to see what they had in their roster.
Galloway played extremely well Saturday night, going a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc, finishing the game with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. Porzingis in his return, mostly struggled in 16.5 minutes of play, going 3/11 from the field and missing both his three-point attempts. Arron Afflalo again was limited in his minutes of play, scoring two points in 12 minutes.
The last and final preseason game will be October 22nd against the Boston Celtics, hopefully Porzingis and Afflalo will get to get more reps with the starters before the regular season gets underway.
Next: Kyle O'Quinn Bringing the 1990s Back
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