New York was down four starters on Sunday evening, and they came away with a regular-season ending loss to the Hornets.
The Charlotte Hornets had something to play for on Sunday evening. The New York Knicks did not, and it showed just about exactly how you'd expect.
LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Coby White each scored 19 points as Charlotte beat New York 110-96 at Madison Square Garden, clinching the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. It was exactly the kind of game you'd expect when one team is playing for its postseason life and the other is running out its back-end rotation.
For the Knicks, this was a scheduled rest day with a basketball game attached. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby all sat with New York locked into the third seed in the East.
Mikal Bridges played exactly 23 seconds, enough to extend his consecutive games played streak to 638, the eighth-longest in NBA history, before checking out after committing a foul. Beyond that, this was a night for the bottom of the roster to get run.
Apr 12, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) blocks a shot by New York Knicks forward Jeremy Sochan (20) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesKnueppel Makes History
The backups simply weren't equipped to handle a Hornets team that came in with genuine urgency. Charlotte went 33-16 in 2026 and won 17 of their last 21 road games, so this wasn't a team that was going to sleepwalk through a meaningless opponent just because the Knicks were short-handed.
Kon Knueppel had another solid night for Charlotte. He went 3-of-10 from three with 14 points, pushing his season three-point total to 273 and setting the NBA rookie record while leading the entire league in made threes.
He and Cooper Flagg are neck-and-neck in the Rookie of the Year conversation, but having this record might just push him over the top for the award. Meanwhile, on New York's side of things, they'll now be facing a dangerous playoff opponent in round one.
What's Next for New York
The Knicks head into the playoffs against the sixth seed Atlanta Hawks, one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the course of the last two months. But perhaps the biggest concern headed into postseason play for New York is OG Anunoby. He sprained his left ankle in Friday's win over Toronto and is considered day to day.
Mike Brown said he didn't even bother asking the medical staff whether Anunoby could have played Sunday since there was no reason to risk anything, but his availability for the start of the first round is a genuine question mark.
New York's first-round matchup with Atlanta is winnable, and the rest the starters got could prove valuable. But if Anunoby misses time, the Knicks lose one of their best perimeter defenders at exactly the wrong moment. The Hawks are hot, and New York can't afford to slouch.