Hornets ramp up playoffs drive

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Kon Knueppel scored 26 points as the Charlotte Hornets maintained their late-season charge for a National Basketball Association playoff berth with an emphatic 114-103 defeat of the high-flying New York Knicks on Thursday.

Charlotte forward Knueppel rattled in six three-pointers as part of an impressive all-round team shooting display to help the Hornets extend their winning streak to five games as they chase a postseason ticket.

LaMelo Ball finished with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds, one of five Charlotte players to finish in double digits.

The Hornets have now won 23 of their last 29 games since late January, and are firmly in the thick of the Eastern Conference race for the playoffs.

With sixth-placed Toronto occupying the last automatic playoff spot at 40-32, Charlotte are part of a cluster of teams jostling for position just below them.

Philadelphia occupy seventh place on 40-33 while Charlotte, Orlando and Miami all have identical 39-34 records.

Charlotte’s blistering form is part of a remarkable turnaround this season for the franchise, who finished just one place off the bottom of the Eastern Conference last season with just 19 wins.