The Charlotte Hornets vs Knicks Match Player Stats tell the story of a game Charlotte needed and New York approached with its playoff position already settled. The Hornets beat the Knicks 110-96 at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2026, to finish the regular season 44-38 and secure the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Charlotte led by 10 after the first quarter and by 13 at halftime. New York played without Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, while Mikal Bridges appeared for only the opening 23 seconds. Charlotte took advantage by making 19 three-pointers and keeping control of the lead throughout the second half.

Match Overview

The victory guaranteed Charlotte a home game against Miami in the 9-10 Play-In matchup. New York had already locked up the East’s third seed and was preparing for a first-round series against Atlanta.

Pre-Match Context

Charlotte entered its final regular-season game at 43-38. A victory would remove any uncertainty around the No. 9 seed and give the Hornets home court in their first Play-In game.

New York entered at 53-28 with its playoff seed already fixed. That changed the Knicks’ rotation before tip-off. Brunson, Towns, Hart and Anunoby were all unavailable, while Mitchell Robinson and several other rotation players also appeared on the injury report.

The Hornets had also changed direction sharply over the second half of the season. They finished 33-16 during the 2026 calendar year and won 17 of their final 21 road games.

Quarter-by-Quarter Score

Charlotte won each of the first three quarters or finished level, so New York never had a period in which it could cut into the overall deficit.

Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown

First Quarter: Charlotte Creates the Early Separation

New York scored first, but Charlotte soon found its perimeter game. Brandon Miller hit a three, LaMelo Ball followed from deep, and the Hornets began building their lead.

The Knicks briefly moved ahead 16-15 after Miles McBride scored off an offensive rebound. Charlotte responded with a 15-4 finish to the period.

Kon Knueppel hit a three, Grant Williams added another, and Coby White closed the quarter with a pull-up three at the buzzer. That sequence sent Charlotte into the second quarter ahead 30-20.

Second Quarter: Ball Pushes the Lead to 13

Charlotte continued to create clean scoring chances around Ball. He assisted Ryan Kalkbrenner on two alley-oop finishes and found Grant Williams for a three.

Ball then began scoring himself. His three with 9:20 left made it 40-27. Later, he hit back-to-back threes in the final two minutes, including a step-back shot that moved Charlotte to 57-42.

Jordan Clarkson scored on a putback just before halftime, but New York still went to the locker room down 57-44. Charlotte had added another three points to its first-quarter advantage.

Third Quarter: New York Scores More, but Cannot Close the Gap

The Knicks produced their best offensive quarter with 29 points. Jose Alvarado and Jeremy Sochan hit early threes, and Ariel Hukporti contributed around the basket.

Charlotte kept answering. Ball hit another three before Brandon Miller connected from outside. Coby White then took over a larger part of the second-unit scoring.

White scored repeatedly late in the period and assisted a Josh Green three. His three-pointer with 54 seconds left put Charlotte ahead 84-70, and a Kalkbrenner three-point play made it 87-73 after three.

Fourth Quarter: Hornets Protect the Lead

Moussa Diabate scored on a tip-in to start Charlotte’s fourth-quarter scoring, and Grant Williams followed with another basket. The margin reached 18 at 91-73.

New York cut the score to 93-80 after a Kevin McCullar Jr. three, but the Hornets answered after a timeout. Ball scored inside, Miles Bridges finished a drive, and Knueppel completed a three-point play.

Sion James then hit a three that pushed the score to 105-84. Charlotte used the closing minutes to finish the game without allowing New York to make a serious run.

Team Stats Comparison

Charlotte shot 45.9 percent overall compared with New York’s 43.3 percent. The larger difference came beyond the arc, where the Hornets made six more three-pointers.

Key Numbers That Decided the Game

The Hornets’ 19-13 advantage in made threes produced an 18-point scoring difference from behind the arc. Charlotte won by 14, so that perimeter gap covered the final margin by itself.

Charlotte also won the rebound battle 46-39. Moussa Diabate had nine rebounds, while Ball added seven and Knueppel and Grant Williams collected six apiece.

New York actually took better care of the ball. The Knicks committed 10 turnovers compared with Charlotte’s 17 and recorded 10 steals. The problem was that those extra possessions did not offset Charlotte’s advantage from three-point range and at the free-throw line.

Charlotte Hornets Full Box Score

Charlotte spread its scoring across the roster. Ball, Miller and Coby White each scored 19 points, while Knueppel added 14. No Hornets player needed 20 points for the team to reach 110.

Hornets Scoring and Playmaking

Hornets Shooting

Hornets Defense and Ball Security

Coby White produced the best plus-minus among Charlotte’s regular rotation at +18 in only 16 minutes. Grant Williams finished at +16, while Knueppel was +15.

New York Knicks Full Box Score

With most of New York’s usual starting unit resting or unavailable, Miles McBride became the leading scorer. Jose Alvarado handled a larger playmaking role and finished with seven assists.

Knicks Scoring and Playmaking

Knicks Shooting

Knicks Defense and Ball Security

New York had five players in double figures, but McBride was the only Knick to reach 20. The Knicks also attempted only eight free throws, compared with 17 for Charlotte.

Top Performers

LaMelo Ball

Ball led Charlotte’s primary offense while sharing the team scoring lead. Five of his seven field goals came from three-point range, and he also led the Hornets with six assists. His second-quarter shooting had the largest effect on the shape of the game. 

Charlotte was already ahead when he hit three triples during the period, including two in the final two minutes. Those shots helped push a manageable lead into a 13-point halftime advantage. He also collected seven rebounds, giving Charlotte extra possession control from the guard position.

Brandon Miller

Miller matched Ball with 19 points despite taking only 12 field-goal attempts. He made three three-pointers and went 6-for-7 at the free-throw line. That mattered because Charlotte scored eight more points than New York at the line as a team. 

Miller also made an impact before the scoring rhythm developed, blocking Ariel Hukporti on New York’s first possession. His three-pointer later in the opening minute gave Charlotte its first lead, and another three in the second quarter helped preserve the double-digit margin.

Coby White

White scored 19 points in only 16 minutes and finished with a team-best +18 plus-minus. He went 6-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three. His first-quarter work helped Charlotte create its initial separation. He scored twice inside the final minute and a half, then made a three at the buzzer for a 30-20 lead.

White returned to drive the offense late in the third quarter, scoring at the rim, drawing fouls and hitting another three. Charlotte increased its lead while its starting guards received rest.

Miles McBride

McBride became New York’s main scorer with Brunson and the other regular starters unavailable. He scored a game-high 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting and made four of seven three-point attempts. Several of those baskets stopped Charlotte from stretching the margin earlier. 

McBride scored seven straight Knicks points during one first-quarter stretch, helping New York turn a 15-11 deficit into a 16-15 lead. He continued hitting threes in the second quarter, but New York could not generate enough stops to turn his scoring into a sustained comeback.

Jose Alvarado

Alvarado handled much of New York’s creation and finished with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. He made four three-pointers, including shots early in both the second and third quarters when the Knicks were trying to reduce Charlotte’s lead. 

His seven assists were the most by either team, and he committed only one turnover in 33 minutes. New York still finished 19 points worse than Charlotte during his minutes because the Hornets continued making outside shots and scoring efficiently enough to answer each run.

Starting Lineups

Mikal Bridges’ start was unusual. He played only 23 seconds, committed a foul and checked out. The appearance extended his consecutive-games streak to 638, which ranked eighth in NBA history at the time.

Injury Report

Charlotte also listed two-way players Tosan Evbuomwan and Antonio Reeves as out because of G League assignments. The most important competitive change was New York’s missing starting core. Anunoby had suffered a left ankle sprain in the previous win over Toronto, while Brunson, Hart and Towns were held out for injury management.

Season Series and Head-to-Head

The four-game 2025-26 series finished level at 2-2. New York won the first two meetings before Charlotte took both games in March and April.

The March 26 game changed the direction of the season series. Charlotte’s 114-103 victory ended New York’s seven-game winning streak, before the Hornets won again in the regular-season finale.

Across the franchises’ regular-season history through this game, New York held the overall advantage in the matchup.

Eastern Conference Standings

The April 12 result completed the regular season for both teams. New York finished third in the East, while Charlotte finished ninth.

Charlotte finished only one game behind Philadelphia and Orlando but remained ninth because both teams finished 45-37. The Hornets were one game ahead of Miami, which secured the other spot in the 9-10 Play-In game.

Broadcast Information

The game was played at Madison Square Garden in New York, with Charlotte’s regional television listing carried on FDSS.

Conclusion

Charlotte ended the regular season with the result it needed. The Hornets secured ninth place in the Eastern Conference and moved into the Play-In Tournament with a home game against Miami. Their next task was different from the finale in New York because one loss in the 9-10 game would end their season.

For the Knicks, the defeat did not alter their seed. New York had already secured third place and used the finale to limit the workload of its main rotation before the playoffs. The next focus shifted to Atlanta and a seven-game first-round series, with the availability of players such as OG Anunoby becoming more important than the outcome of Game 82.

For more match updates, read: Tennessee Titans vs Arizona Cardinals Match Player Stats

FAQ

Who won the Charlotte Hornets vs Knicks game?

The Charlotte Hornets won 110-96 on April 12, 2026, finishing the regular season 44-38 and securing the Eastern Conference’s No. 9 seed.

Who scored the most points in Hornets vs Knicks?

Miles McBride led all scorers with 21 points. LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Coby White each led Charlotte with 19 points.

What were the Charlotte Hornets vs Knicks Match Player Stats for LaMelo Ball?

LaMelo Ball finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He shot 7-for-19 overall and made five of 16 three-point attempts.

Why did Jalen Brunson not play against Charlotte?

Brunson was listed out because of right ankle injury management. New York had already secured the No. 3 seed before the regular-season finale.

How many three-pointers did the Hornets make?

Charlotte made 19 of 52 three-point attempts. New York made 13 of 40, giving the Hornets six more made threes.

What was Kon Knueppel’s final stat line?

Knueppel had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. He made three three-pointers and finished the game with a +15 plus-minus.

What did the result mean for Charlotte?

The win secured the No. 9 seed and home court against No. 10 Miami in the Play-In Tournament, keeping Charlotte’s playoff path alive.