Hornets clinch the No. 9 seed and a home game in the East play-in tournament by beating the Knicks

Audio By Carbonatix

NEW YORK (AP) — LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each scored 19 points, Kon Knueppel made three 3-pointers in his record-setting rookie season and the Charlotte Hornets beat the New York Knicks 110-96 on Sunday to clinch the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Coby White also had 19 points for the Hornets, who will host No. 10 Miami on Tuesday in the play-in tournament. 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.

With the Knicks locked into the No. 3 seed in the East, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby all sat. 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. He then committed a foul to check out of the game.

The Knicks will face No. 6 seed Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. Deuce McBride scored 21 points and Jose Alvarado had 16 as New York finished 53-29.

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.

The Hornets went 33-16 in 2026 and finished 44-38. They won 17 of their last 21 road games.

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.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba