Charlotte's defense steps up in a big way as Hornets stun Knicks

The Charlotte Hornets pick up their 18th win of the season.

Schuyler Callihan | Mar 20, 2025

Mar 20, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) passes off under pressure from Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic (11) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

The New York Knicks were without Jalen Brunson on Thursday night and the Charlotte Hornets took full advantage, pulling the upset in Uptown by a 115-98 score.

Best of the Night: Hornets' frontcourt

Mark Williams was back to the better version of himself, posting a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Miles Bridges also notched a double-double with 15 points on 6/17 shooting and 10 rebounds. Just two days after what looked like a serious injury, Moussa Diabate was right back on the court and chipped in seven points and five boards in 12 minutes of action. Jusuf Nurkic was super efficient as well going for nine and seven on a perfect 3/3 night from the floor.

Worst of the Night: Draft odds?

I'm not one of those people who believe fans should root for losses to land a draft pick, but the reality is, winning tonight is the only "bad" thing that happened. Charlotte's in danger of falling outside of the bottom three, each of whom has a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.

State of the Night: Three-point defense

New York is one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NBA, shooting the deep ball at a 37% clip. Tonight, the Knicks were held to 10/39 (25.6%) from three-point range. OG Anunoby, Miles McBride, and Mikal Bridges were a combined 4/22. Not allowing a single triple from Bridges is impressive.

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Published Mar 20, 2025

SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

schuylercallihan(at)gmail.com Twitter:@Callihan_ Schuyler Callihan is the lead publisher of Mountaineers Now, All Panthers, and All Hornets on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. He took over publishing duties of All Panthers in 2020 and wanted to expand his professional coverage in the Queen City by running the operations at All Hornets. Schuyler attended Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia before finishing up his schooling at Alamance Community College in Graham, North Carolina. The Wheeling, West Virginia native made the move to North Carolina in 2015 and has been in Charlotte since 2021.