Randle leads Knicks past Hornets in OT, tie Atlanta for 4th

<p>NEW YORK &mdash; Julius Randle had 33 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, and led an overtime surge that sent the New York Knicks past the Charlotte Hornets 118-109 on Saturday.</p>
<p>Reggie Bullock added 17 points for the Knicks, who improved to 40-31 and moved into a tie with the idle Atlanta Hawks for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.</p>
<p>Miles Bridges had 30 points and Devonte Graham added 25 for the Hornets, who have lost four straight games.</p>
<p>New York led by 17 points with 7:45 left in the third quarter before the Hawks went on a run capped by Bridges’ windmill dunk to cut their deficit to 89-86.</p>
<p>Charlotte opened the final quarter with a 7-0 run, highlighted by Graham’s 3-pointer for a 93-89 lead.</p>
<p>New York scored seven straight points to go up 104-101 on Randle’s jumper. Charlotte’s Terry Rozier made a free throw with 2:09 left and had a layup with 37 seconds remaining that made it 104-all.</p>
<p>Randle put the Knicks ahead in overtime 106-104 with a pair of free throws and then assisted on the next three baskets during 9-0 run, setting up Alec Burks’ layup with 1:31 left in the extra period that made it 112-106.</p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Hornets: Cody Zeller had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds … Jalen McDaniel chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Knicks: Derrick Rose had 15 points in 25 minutes after missing his previous game with a sore ankle.</p>
<p>HOME COURT ADVANTAGE </p>
<p>The Hornets announced Saturday seating capacity at Spectrum Center will increase to as many as 12,000 fans, or 60%, for any possible play-in games and first-round games that the team could host in the NBA playoffs. Capacity for previous games was set at 25%.</p>
<p>BRIDGING THE GAP</p>
<p>Bridges was cleared from the NBA’s heath and safety protocols and returned to the Charlotte lineup after missing six games. The Hornets were 2-4 while Bridges was in the COVID-19 protocols.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Hornets: Charlotte concludes the regular season with a trip to Washington on Sunday.</p>
<p>Knicks: Welcome the Boston Celtics on Sunday for their last game of the regular season.</p>
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