Zeller Hits Game-Winner, Hornets Beat Knicks

Cody Zeller made a lay-up with 0.4 seconds to go in the game to give the Charlotte Hornets a 95-93 victory Wednesday night against the New York Knicks. The Hornets have now won four of their last five games after opening the 2015-2016 NBA Season with three consecutive losses.

The Hornets struggled much of the evening and trailed the Knicks by double-digits at the end of the third quarter, 79-69 thanks to a big scoring night from Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting with three 3-pointers.

However, Charlotte unleashed a 15-5 run to start the fourth and tied the game, 82-all with over eight minutes to go in the game.

Nicolas Batum, who had 24 points, led the way for the Hornets, which got another big lift from bench players Jeremy Lin and Jeremy Lamb, who finished with 17 and 14 points, respectively. The hero of the game, Zeller, had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

No other starter finished in double-figure scoring for the Hornets but their defense was excellent in the final quarter containing the Knicks to just 14 points in the final 12 minutes.

Kristaps Porzingis continues his impressive start to his NBA career finishing with a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds while Jose Calderon and Arron Afflalo combined to score 25 points for the Knicks, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Porzingis made a three-point basket as the time expired but the basket was ruled out by the referees in the end game review. Before the Zeller game-winner, Anthony also had a chance to give the Knicks the lead but the NY superstar airballed his shot and the Knicks were called for a shot-clock violation.

The Knicks return to New York for a three-game home stretch with match-ups against the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans and a rematch with the Hornets.

Charlotte aims for their third win in a row when they visit the Chicago Bulls Friday before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday.