New York Knicks: Emmanuel Mudiay’s career night fulfills comeback

The New York Knicks had to overcome a 21-point comeback against the Charlotte Hornets. Unlike Wednesday’s game, they fulfilled this attempt and won in overtime.

2018-19, arguably, has become the year of Emmanuel Mudiay, who joined the New York Knicks as a player needing a change of scenery. That did not appear to be the case in February 2018, upon arrival, but since returning from an ankle injury in October, everything changed.

Not all games have featured Mudiay at the forefront; some nights he goes cold with three or six points. Most of the way, though, it’s double-digit points and more than just the occasional dime or two.

In Friday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, Mudiay shined brighter than ever. His 34 points were a career-high and marked his third game of at least 25 games this season. A season-high eight assists were added along with two rebounds and two steals.

Mudiay led the comeback trail for the Knicks in the second half, which featured 21 of his points. He was all over the place in the paint, with just one basket from behind the arc.

21 was also the number New York fell behind by. They made a slow return to Charlotte’s level as the game progressed, identical to what happened against the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday. However, they fulfilled this one, defeating the Hornets in overtime, 126-124.

The fourth-year man has point guard to himself. Head coach David Fizdale never named concrete starters at any position, but with flare-ups with other players at this spot, there’s little doubt who the man is.

Mudiay’s performance was not the only significant occurrence either. It happened on the injury front, as both Mitchell Robinson and Frank Ntilikina left this game with sprained ankles. Neither returned.

There was a positive development, though. The little-used Luke Kornet had 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in his biggest in-game run of the season. A potential candidate to hit waivers when Allonzo Trier signed a contract, he stepped up in the first significant action and may have earned some playing time.

Most notably, Kornet played the entire fourth quarter, supplanting Enes Kanter. So, if Robinson misses time, this may be New York’s new backup center.

• Another rough game for Tim Hardaway Jr. He had just 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting and 1-for-6 from behind the arc.
• Kevin Knox‘s night actually got lost in the shuffle, as most of his output happened in the first half. Despite that, he still finished with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
• Courtney Lee was a non-factor, even with the G-League game. Just seven points for him on 2-for-7 shooting.
• Only 12 minutes for Mario Hezonja off the bench, though he stands to receive playing time with injuries throughout the rotation.
• Noah Vonleh pitched in a quiet double-double, with 15 points and 11 rebounds and seven assists. On Saturday, he, Hezonja and Kornet officially become eligible for trade.

The New York Knicks will return to the court to face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Dec. 16, at 5:00 p.m. They will attempt to reach double-digit wins.