RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Knicks defended their way into the
NBA record book.
Holding Charlotte to 19 points in the third and fourth quarters,
the Knicks tied the best defensive effort for a half in league
history Saturday night and beat the Hornets 81-67.
|  | | Allan Houston scored 21 during Saturday night's victory. |
"Sometimes you get in a zone offensively," said Allan Houston,
who led the Knicks with 21 points. "We felt like we were in a zone
defensively. Everyone was focused, everyone was aware, everybody
was doing their job whether it was blocking out or rebounding.
"Sometimes you never know what you're capable of doing."
The Knicks tied the second-half defensive record set by Orlando
last season against Miami. They held the Hornets to 1-for-16
shooting in the third quarter to win fairly easily despite playing
their fourth game in five nights.
Making it even more impressive, they did it coming off an
overtime victory at Boston the night before and playing without
Latrell Sprewell (back spasms) and Chris Childs (bruised
hamstring).
The record came as a bit of a surprise.
"We felt we were doing pretty good, but as far as setting a
record, no. We didn't feel we were close to doing anything like
that," Glen Rice said. "But it shows that if you go out there and
put forth the effort and do it together, good things happen."
It didn't even matter that the Knicks blew a 16-point lead in
the second quarter. They simply built another one as Houston scored
nine of his points in the third quarter, and the Hornets never came
back in the fourth.
Marcus Camby, coming off a 16-point, 17-rebound performance
against the Celtics, finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.
Larry Johnson added 15 points and Kurt Thomas came off the bench to
add 12 points and eight rebounds.
Coach Jeff Van Gundy had predicted a tough test for the Knicks,
given that Charlotte is one of the tallest teams in the East and
has a pair of the type of penetrating guards that have given the
Knicks problems in the past.
But the Hornets failed to pound the ball inside as Van Gundy had
expected, nor did they have the energy to match a Knicks squad that
finally seemed to take their coach's defensive pleadings to heart.
"I liked the whole mindset today," Van Gundy said. "We
guarded well and I want to give our guys a heck of a lot of credit,
but (Charlotte) also missed some shots they could have made."
The Knicks led 31-15 late in the first quarter, but Charlotte
had a 19-4 run in the second to take a 36-35 lead. New York led
49-48 at halftime, and everything started going wrong offensively
for the Hornets in the third.
Baron Davis and David Wesley each went 0-for-4 in the quarter,
Derrick Coleman went 0-for-2, Jamaal Magliore was 0-for-2 and the
team committed five turnovers. By the time it was over, the Knicks
were holding a 68-55 lead that got even bigger early in the fourth.
Jamal Mashburn led Charlotte with 18 points.
"When we came back in the second quarter we played with a lot
of energy and caught up," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. "The
third and fourth quarters were different."
Game
notes
The Hornets tied the NBA record for fewest points in a
half. Last season, Miami scored 19 points in the second half at
Orlando on March 26. ... Knicks general manager Scott Layden did
not sound optimistic about the chances of signing free agent Joe
Smith. "At this point, no news is bad news," Layden said. ...
Sprewell missed his third straight game. ... P.J. Brown of
Charlotte missed his second straight game with a strained Achilles'
tendon.
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NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 126
Seattle 91
Indiana 94
Detroit 84
Cleveland 86
Washington 73
New York 81
Charlotte 67
Philadelphia 85
Boston 83
Toronto 98
Chicago 75
Minnesota 103
Milwaukee 92
San Antonio 91
Vancouver 78
Phoenix 84
Miami 82
Portland 111
Houston 88
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