Knicks rebound from ugly loss with laugher over Hornets

Coming off arguably their worst loss of the year, the desultory Hornets provided the Knicks with the perfect tonic at home.

With just over two minutes left in the first quarter, Jordan Clarkson pushed the ball in transition, but the Hornets had both Tidjane Salaun and Sion James back ahead of him. Both looked at one another, thinking the other would slide over to stop Clarkson, but neither did, comically letting Clarkson waltz in for a warmup-esque layup as the Madison Square Garden crowd laughed at the gaffe.

It was representative of the quality of opponent the Hornets are, as the Knicks (14-7) beat them 119-104, on Wednesday. They improved to 11-1 at home.

Wednesday was the second leg of a back-to-back, as the Knicks saw their four-game winning streak snapped in an ugly 123-117 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday night in Boston.

Brunson, who struggled through a brutal shooting night on Tuesday, finished with 26 points, though shot just 1-for-5 from 3-point range. That one trey was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first half.

It was Karl-Anthony Towns who carried most of the scoring load, recording 35 points, 18 rebounds — which tied a season high — and five assists. He nearly had a double-double in the first half alone with 19 points and nine rebounds. Once again, he was at his best when establishing himself in the paint first rather than firing treys from behind the arc. He bullied the much slimmer Moussa Diabate down low and on the glass — five of his rebounds were offensive.

And it was after his presence in the paint was felt that Towns began looking for his 3-point shot. He nailed two threes in the third quarter to help the Knicks re-establish a double-digit lead. That — dominating in the paint and letting open threes come to him — is when he is most efficient.

Towns’ strong — and aggressive — showing comes on the same day he became a popular name in mock trades for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ESPN reported is evaluating his Bucks future. It was a strong statement from Towns, who has had the most up-and-down integration into coach Mike Brown’s offensive system.

Josh Hart, who had been shooting the lights out of late, took a step back in that department but characteristically still found ways to make an impact, recording eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Knicks’ somewhat concerning propensity of seeing early leads dwindle, which Hart called out on Tuesday, popped up again. After carrying a 15-point lead into the second quarter, they were outscored by nine points and that lead was cut to six at halftime.

But they outscored the Hornets by nine in the third quarter to regain firm control. They then saw an 18-point fourth-quarter lead shrink to six points before putting their foot back on the gas pedal.

It was similar to Tuesday night, when the Knicks led by 11 after the first quarter and then were outscored by 17 in the second quarter. Except this time, the lowly Hornets could not take advantage in the same way the Celtics did. But it would behoove the Knicks to limit that trend.

The Hornets shot just 31 percent from 3-point range, hampering any real chance to make this a competitive game. But it wasn’t completely due to any stifling Knicks defense — plenty of their looks were open. Better teams would have punished the Knicks.

The Knicks shot just 32 percent from deep themselves. However, the Hornets are a weak side in what seems to be a weak Eastern Conference. That will provide opportunities like Wednesday for the Knicks to cruise even if they’re not at their very best.