Late Buzz gives the New York Knicks a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Black Friday

The Thanksgiving tryptophan wore off just in time for the New York Knicks.

New York got off to a worryingly slow start in a Black Friday matinee against the reeling Charlotte Hornets, but recovered well enough to secure a 99-98 win in front of a mostly Knick-friendly Spectrum Center crowd.

The breakthrough in a sloppy exchange that saw the Knicks fall behind by as many as 10 points came from Jalen Brunson, who scored 31 points on 8 of 16 from the field in the win. Josh Hart (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles, while Miles McBride had 14 and five boards in relief. All of that and more also helped New York overcome a season-worst 21 turnovers.

The Knicks (11-8, 3-0) not only secured a winning record in a five-game road trip that was tied for the longest time this season, but also remained perfect in NBA Cup group play. A potential winner’s meeting for the promotion place in East Group A will take place on Tuesday against the Orlando Magic.

Against a Hornets group in which several big names were missing (not least of which was top scorer LaMelo Ball), the Knicks failed again in the first game and had to accept a deficit of 23:15, which means they have the basement mark for the fewest points in a season, in which there was everything set-to-recently settled in Wednesday’s loss in Dallas. New York recovered well enough to take a brief lead late in the half, but Josh Green’s four points in the final 1.1 seconds (the latter earned when he intercepted an inbounds pass from Mikal Bridges) gave Charlotte the halftime advantage .

The Knicks finally return home on Sunday night when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans (6:00 p.m. ET, MSG).

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