Josh Hart propels Knicks to big first half lead in 129-101 rout over Hornets

The Knicks had an offensive explosion on Wednesday night, beating the Charlotte Hornets, 129-101.

Here are the takeaways…

— Things got off to a fast start as both offenses came out firing and shot the ball extremely well in the first quarter. Josh Hart, in particular, had a fantastic opening quarter in what was his second start of the season after he logged 38 minutes in a win against the Nets last time out.

The 30-year-old looked like a man inspired and scored 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in eight minutes on the floor. He also had a steal and an assist in what was a fast-paced and entertaining back-and-forth first quarter.

— It wasn’t just Hart, though, as every starter saw at least two baskets go through in the opening frame. Jalen Brunson (9), Karl-Anthony Towns (6), Mikal Bridges (6) and Miles McBride (5), along with Hart, combined to score 37 points and shoot 15-of-20 (75 percent) from the field.

— Mitchell Robinson led everybody with three rebounds in four minutes off the bench, while Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele also saw some minutes.

— The Hornets had a similarly successful first quarter with Collin Sexton leading the scoring charge with seven points off the bench. LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges each had five and after 12 minutes, New York was up 37-31.

— Scoring slowed to start the second quarter as both teams began the period 3-for-11 from the field. Nevertheless, the Knicks continued to add to their lead and were up by 15 after Brunson completed an and-one with 3:35 remaining in the half as Charlotte struggled mightily on offense.

— Things exploded from there with New York ending the half on a 15-2 run to take complete control. The two daggers came in the final minute when Brunson and Hart each splashed deep three-pointers, with Hart’s coming with 1.2 seconds left. The last-second triple was Hart’s third of the half as he led all scorers with 19 points (7-for-9 from the field, 3-for-3 from deep, 2-for-2 at the free throw line) heading into the locker room with the Knicks up, 72-47.

— Essentially over from there, New York did well to not let the Hornets get back into the game in the second half as Brunson carried the load offensively by scoring 16 points in the third quarter. It wasn’t his most efficient night, shooting 14-for-28 from the field and 2-for-6 from three, but Brunson ended with a game-high 33 points.

— After his incredible first half, Hart took a backseat to Brunson in the second and let the point guard cook. Still, Hart finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in a do-it-all type performance. Towns had a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds), Bridges had 18 points and McBride added 19 to round out most of the Knicks’ scoring.

— New York shot an incredible 57 percent from the field, 52 percent from deep and 89 percent from the charity stripe in one of its most impressive offensive showings, especially on the road. It was enough to capture just the team’s third road win of the season and they are now 3-5 away from MSG.

— The Knicks are now 2-1 in NBA Cup group stage play.

Game MVP: Josh Hart

Hart was everywhere in the first half and was a big reason why the Knicks got out to such a big lead at halftime.

Highlights

What’s next

The Knicks return home after a five-game road trip to take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night in their final NBA Cup group stage matchup. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

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