New York Knicks go for 4th straight win against Charlotte Hornets

The New York Knicks are on a roll.

The Knicks are riding a mini-run with three straight wins and look to keep it going Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena.

New York remained in the win column with a 113-106 victory over the Orlando Magic Friday at Madison Square Garden and was led by Carmelo Anthony's 25 points on 10-of-24 shooting. Jason Smith tallied 19 points and Lance Thomas provided 16 off the bench.

"We're competing and playing for each other," Thomas said. "It's working for us and we have to keep it going."

The Knicks, who failed to reach 100 points in their previous 11 games, have won three in a row for the first time this season and made 47.3 percent from the field. They closed out last season with four straight wins.

New York is only 3-19 away from home and will host Sacramento and Oklahoma City after this brief trip down south.

Charlotte looks to rebound from Friday's 129-90 blowout loss at Cleveland. LeBron James and J.R. Smith scored 25 and 21 points, respectively, to lead the Cavaliers, who shot 51.7 percent for the game and had a 56-42 rebounding advantage. Smith made 7-of-11 3-pointers and the Cavs hit 15-of-28 from downtown.

The Hornets were led by Al Jefferson's 22 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist netted 15 points for Charlotte, which made 40.4 percent for the game and only 2-of-16 3-pointers. The Hornets scored only 13 points in the first quarter and trailed 75-40 at halftime.

"We just didn't have the right intensity or approach to play a team like that," said Hornets coach Steve Clifford.

Clifford's squad entered the night having won three straight and eight of its previous nine games.

Charlotte will try to push its home winning streak to four games and is 11-13 as the host. It will start a three-game road trip Wednesday against San Antonio, Denver and Washington.

The Hornets have won two of the three matchups with New York this season. New York is 53-40 all-time against Charlotte.

[SportsNetwork.com]