Jalen Brunson scores 32 points, leads Knicks past Hornets for 3rd straight victory

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 32 points as the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to three games with a 122-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

Brunson scored 26 points in the opening half for the Knicks, who never trailed and built a 15-point lead by the intermission on the way to their sixth win in seven games.

Donte DiVincenzo added 25 points, Julius Randle scored 21 points, R.J. Barrett finished with 15 points and Mitchell Robinson had a game-high 14 rebounds for New York.

LaMelo Ball led all scorers with 34 points for Charlotte, which lost its fourth straight game. Rookie Brandon Miller had 29 points and Miles Bridges 19.

After leading 30-19 after the first quarter, New York took a game-high 15-point lead three times in the second quarter — the last at 47-32 — before Charlotte whittled the lead to single digits.

Ball hit two 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter that pulled the Hornets within 94-88 with 9:37 left. New York countered with a 15-6 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes, led by Barrett and DiVincenzo, that quelled any hopes Charlotte had of a comeback.

Baron Davis, a player who played for both teams during a 13-year career, was honored at halftime as a “Hornets Legend,” part of Charlotte’s 35-year anniversary of NBA basketball.

A first-round pick of Charlotte in 1999, Davis was a two-time NBA All-Star during his six-year career with the Hornets/New Orleans Pelicans; Charlotte moved to New Orleans after the 2001-02 season. Davis later played for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Knicks.

UP NEXT

Knicks: At Minnesota on Monday.

Hornets: Host Boston on Monday.

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