Championship Buzz! New York Knicks Hex Hornets, Advance to NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Round

Julius Randle and the New York Knicks made all kinds of history on Tuesday night by advancing to the knockout round of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Twenty-four and there's so much more.

The New York Knicks' Tuesday evening proved historic in more ways than one, as they reached several landmarks in a 115-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at Madison Square Garden. 

Behind a 25-point, 20-rebound double-double for Julius Randle (becoming the first New Yorker with a 20-20 game since Enes Freedom in 2018), the Knicks (10-7, 3-1) clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference portion of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament's knockout round.

Tuesday's 24-point victory gave the Knicks a final point differential of plus-42, which proved to be the best among group runner-ups (13 ahead of second-place Cleveland). The Knicks will face the winner of their group, the Milwaukee Bucks, on Dec. 5. That game in Milwaukee will determine who moves onto the semifinal round in Las Vegas, which will host the championship game the week after that. Group winners Indiana and Boston (A and C respectively) will face off in the other East semifinal.

The Knicks seemed well on pace to fulfill their wild-card destiny in the early going: with franchise face LaMelo Ball out indefinitely with an ankle injury, the Knicks immediately leaped out to a 17-6 lead and led by 13 after the first dozen. Primarily sustained by outside efforts from last summer's second overall pick, Brandon Miller (4-of-6 from three in the first half), the reeling Hornets managed to keep pace with the Knicks, getting the lead down to 11 by intermission. 

Julius Randle led the way in Tuesday's win / USA TODAY SPORTS

Charlotte even had an 11-3 run waiting for the Knicks upon emerging from the halftime locker room, knocking the lead all the way down to one over the first four minutes. That, combined with Boston's blowout victory over Chicago, had the Knicks situated for the consolation slate. 

Perhaps taking a gander at Madison Square Garden's out-of-town scoreboard, the Knicks dominated from there on out: buoyed by eight points and five rebounds from Randle in the third, the Knicks re-established their double-figure lead and only built upon it in the closer. Starters were kept in the game while the Knicks fortified their already healthy differential. 

With Charlotte's primary men limited to 5-of-15 from the field in the fourth quarter before late substitutes like Nick Smith Jr. and James Bouknight came in, the Knicks engaged in necessary scoreboard polishing: they wound up winning the final period 35-25. Immanuel Quickley had 16 of his 23 points in the final frame alone to seal the victorious margin and ignite a mini-celebration for the Manhattanites.

Knicks Make Wizards Disappear From In-Season Tournament Contention

The win over the Hornets (5-11, 1-3) was the Knicks' third over their southern visitors this month and doomed them to their fifth defeat over the last seven games. Miller led the way in scoring with 18 while Mark Williams put up a double-double with a dozen points and rebounds each. One more meeting between the Knicks and Hornets lingers on Jan. 29 in Charlotte.

Before embarking on a potential Vegas vacation, the Knicks will close out a four-game homestand on Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).