Kristian Winfield: Knicks keep NBA Cup chances alive with 129-101 rout of Hornets

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Nov 26, 2025

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Las Vegas, is that you?

The Knicks made easy work of the Charlotte Hornets in a 129-101 rout at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday. The victory improved New York’s record to 2-1 in the NBA Cup, putting them in position for a three-way tie depending on the outcome of the in-season tournament matchup between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, which tipped shortly after Knicks-Hornets on Wednesday.

And while the Knicks’ offense fired on all cylinders against a lowly Charlotte team, the true takeaways from New York’s victory is the improvement in their chances to punch a ticket to the NBA Cup knockout rounds.

The Cup games, of course, are largely meaningless, another slate of games the league can brand and sell to its broadcast partners. But there is a trend: two of the four teams to reach the in-season tournament championship have ultimately made it to the NBA Finals. The Indiana Pacers lost to LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers in the championship game in 2024, and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in last year’s NBA Cup finale. Coincidentally, the Thunder and Pacers competed in the 2025 NBA Finals, reaching a climactic Game 7 that ended on Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles.

So in at least one respect, it’s worth the hassle. The Knicks, of course, haven’t made it past the first round of the tournament.

Last season, Trae Young rolled the imaginary dice on the Knicks logo at Madison Square Garden after eliminating New York in an embarrassing 108-100 quarterfinal victory. And in 2023, the in-season tournament’s inaugural season, the Bucks wiped the floor with the Knicks in a 24-point victory in the opening knockout round.

The Knicks now have to exact revenge against the Bucks one more time. Because if they’re going to punch their third straight trip back to the NBA Cup quarterfinal, they’ll need to beat Milwaukee on Friday — with a significant point differential on their side.

The Knicks walked onto the Spectrum Center floors with a minus-two point differential after splitting their first two NBA Cup games — a 10-point road loss to the Chicago Bulls followed by an eight-point home victory over the Miami Heat. The Knicks proceeded to pour it on in Charlotte on Wednesday, leading by as much as 31 in an eventual 28-point victory. They now own a plus-26 point differential heading into Friday’s matchup against the Bucks.

Point differential is the NBA’s tie-breaking method of choice, and the Heat walked into their Wednesday night matchup against the Bucks with a plus-47 point differential, while Milwaukee boasted a plus-29 differential ahead of tipoff.

Which meant the Knicks had long odds entering Wednesday night. Long odds, though, don’t mean no odds.

Meanwhile, the Knicks used their trip to Charlotte to pick apart a Hornets defense ranking seventh-worst in basketball. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures by the half. And amid a rash of injuries, including both OG Anunoby (hamstring) and Landry Shamet (shoulder), head coach Mike Brown opted to bring Mitchell Robinson off the bench for the first time all season. Instead, Brown started Miles McBride and Josh Hart alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges.

Hart responded to the start with his strongest game of the season: 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and four made 3s on six attempts. Brunson scored a game-high 33 points on 50% shooting from the field. Towns added 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, McBride added 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Bridges scored 18 on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.

The Knicks starters scored 111 of the team’s 129 points.

The Knicks, of course, had help. The Hornets are that bad. They turned the ball over 17 times, many coming via unforced errors, like poor entry passes and miscommunications. LaMelo Ball returned to the Hornets rotation after missing five games with an ankle injury but looked far from the All-Star part: He finished with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and missed a corner 3 off the side of the backboard.

Brandon Miller led the way for Charlotte with 18 points, and Miles Bridges added 17.

The challenge will be steeper on Friday with Milwaukee coming to town, but if the Knicks are able to secure a convincing victory, they just might be able to secure tickets to Vegas.