Knicks 96, Hornets 93

[November 03, 2014]  Knicks 96, Hornets 93: Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 1:23 remaining, as New York edged visiting Charlotte. Anthony scored nine points apiece in the third and fourth periods and finished 12-of-22 from the floor as New York posted a second straight win after a humiliating loss to Chicago in the season opener. Amar'e Stoudemire had 17 points and 10 boards off the bench for the Knicks, who shot 50 percent from the floor.

Al Jefferson scored 21 points and Gary Neal added 17 off the bench for the Hornets, who have dropped two straight after rallying from a 24-point, third-quarter deficit in the opener against Milwaukee. Kemba Walker, who beat the Bucks with a game-winning jumper, missed a potential game-tying bucket against Memphis on Saturday and another in this one.

In a closely-contested fourth quarter, Iman Shumpert drilled a 3-pointer with 2:06 left and Anthony followed with an elbow jumper over Marvin Williams 42 seconds later to give the Knicks a 95-93 lead. Shumpert missed a jumper with 16 ticks remaining, but Walker misfired on a contested pull-up jumper, Anthony rebounded, was fouled and made a fee throw to seal it.

A driving dunk by Shumpert gave New York a 43-28 lead, but Jefferson scored 10 of his 12 first-half points in the final 4 1/2 minutes as the Hornets closed within 52-50 at the break. Lance Stephenson came alive with 12 points in the third quarter and Jefferson added nine more as Charlotte forged an 80-79 lead heading into the final stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Anthony knocked down a 3-pointer in the first quarter to become the eighth active player and 40th in NBA history to reach 20,000 points for his career. … Hornets F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left in the first quarter after falling to the floor awkwardly and did not return. … Stephenson had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists after scoring just nine points on 4-of-18 shooting in the first two games combined.

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