The Charlotte Hornets defeated the New York Knicks 110-96 to clinch the 9th seed for the Eastern Conference play-in spot on Sunday.
LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Coby White scored 19 points, while Kon Knueppel made three 3-pointers in his record-setting rookie season, and the Hornets will host No. 10 Miami Heat on Tuesday in the play-in tournament.
Knueppel finished 3 for 10 behind the arc and scored 14 points. He led the NBA and set the rookie record with 273 3-pointers in what could be a close race with No. 1 pick and Duke teammate Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year.
Charlotte will have to win that game and then go on the road Friday and beat the loser of the game between No. 7 Philadelphia and No. 8 Orlando to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
On the other hand, the Knicks locked into the No. 3 seed in the East, as Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby were all sidelined.
Mikal Bridges was the only starter to play for the Knicks, going the opening 23 seconds to extend his consecutive games played streak to 638, eighth-longest in NBA history.
Deuce McBride scored 21 points, and Jose Alvarado had 16 for New York, which finished with a 53-29 win-loss record.
While Charlotte went 33-16 in 2026 and finished 44-38, and won 17 of their last 21 road games.
Meanwhile, Anunoby sprained his left ankle in the Knicks’ victory over Toronto on Friday, and it’s unclear if he could have played. Coach Mike Brown said he didn’t even ask the medical staff because there was no need, and the Knicks said the forward was considered day-to-day.
New York will face the 6th-seeded Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
