Bobcats 102, Knicks 97
NEW YORK -- The Charlotte Bobcats are considered one of the poorest road teams in the NBA, but they looked comfortable Tuesday in a 102-97 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Guard Kemba Walker led Charlotte (2-2) with 25 points, and his backcourt mate, Gerald Henderson, added 18 points.
The Bobcats lost their previous 16 consecutive road games, with their last victory away from Charlotte coming in Orlando on Feb. 19. They had dropped 26 of 28 away from home, with both victories coming against the Magic.
Forward Carmelo Anthony topped the Knicks (1-3) with 32 points, and forward Metta World Peace contributed 18 points.
Anthony drilled a 3-pointer to cut Charlotte's lead to 99-96 with 16.2 left, and New York guard Iman Shumpert was fouled after a steal with 15.3 to go. Shumpert sank one of two free throws to make it 99-97. The Knicks were forced to foul, and Henderson made two free throws with 13.5 seconds left to give the Bobcats a 101-97 edge.
Walker drilled a long jumper from the top of the key, putting Charlotte up 97-91 with 48.3 left to play.
The Knicks looked lethargic on offense for most of the night but woke up late in the game. An offensive rebound from Anthony cut New York's deficit to 91-89 with 4:09 left, but a layup by Charlotte forward Jeff Adrien and a tip-in from Bobcats forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (16 points) moved the lead back to 96-89 with 2:25 left.
Walker left the game clutching his stomach after a collision with World Peace with 4:45 left in the third and the Bobcats leading 74-68.
Without its floor leader, Charlotte let New York sneak back into the game. The Knicks trimmed the margin to 76-72 with 3:11 remaining in the third, but a costly flagrant foul by World Peace allowed Charlotte guard Ramon Sessions to convert two free throws and move the Bobcats' advantage to 78-72.
The Knicks got to within 58-54 with 1:51 left in the second quarter before Charlotte reeled off six straight points. The Bobcats got a 3-pointer from Henderson, then a layup and free throw from Walker to close out the half with a 64-54 cushion.
NOTES: Since getting drafted in 2011, Charlotte G Kemba Walker has played in all 151 regular-season games. Walker leads his draft class with 4,748 minutes played. ... Charlotte C Al Jefferson missed his third consecutive game due to a bone bruise in his right ankle. ... After leading the league with the fewest turnovers last season, the Knicks are among the highest this season, averaging 17.7 a game. The gave the ball away 14 times Tuesday. ... Knicks G Tim Hardaway Jr. is among the rookie leaders in scoring (7.0 points per game) and minutes (22.3 per game). He contributed four points in 12 minutes against Charlotte.
