CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jeremy Lamb was a late addition to the Charlotte Hornets' starting lineup Saturday night, and what an addition he turned out to be.

Lamb contributed 18 points and 17 rebounds -- the most by any guard in the NBA this season -- and the Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 107-102 victory over the New York Knicks.

Lamb, who missed 10 games recently with a strained hamstring, stepped in for Nicolas Batum, who suffered a corneal abrasion in the Hornets' 113-111 overtime loss to the Knicks in New York on Friday night. Lamb didn't play in that game.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford admitted he never expected such a performance from his fifth-year guard.

"It's surprising, because he literally hasn't been able to do any kind of contact for, I'd say, close to a month, three and a half, four weeks," Clifford said. "But his game is based on skill. He's a skill-based player and you saw that tonight."

Lamb, who was 8 of 15 from the field, was more concerned about snapping the losing streak than he was about his individual play.

"That was a great win for us," Lamb said. "Everybody fought. We were short-handed and everybody just fought and leaned on each other, and it was just a huge, huge win for us."

The Hornets (9-7) raced to a 21-point lead in the first quarter, but eventually they had to come from behind in the fourth. With the score tied 87-87 entering the final six minutes, they went on an 8-0 run to pull back out in front, and then they never let the Knicks closer than three again.

Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 28 points, and it was his two free throws with 21.3 seconds remaining that pushed a four-point lead to 105-99. The Hornets also got 14 points from Frank Kaminsky, who filled in for Marvin Williams, who sat out with a knee injury. Kaminsky hit two 3-pointers in the final 4:16.

Cody Zeller added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also scored 11 and added eight boards.

"I'm really proud of our guys," Clifford said. "I mean, Jeff Van Gundy used to say 'It's not who you play, it's how you're playing.' They didn't worry about the guys that were out. Everybody that stepped on the court was ready to play. We had an edge tonight, whether we won or lost. We started the game with great intensity."

The Hornets led 14-2 out of the gate and were up 36-15 late in the first quarter.

The Knicks (8-8) had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks with 25 points. Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose scored 18 apiece, but Anthony was only 7 of 25 from the field and Rose 6 of 20 from the field on a night when the Knicks shot only 37.5 percent from the field.

The Knicks also got 14 points from Courtney Lee and 12 from Brandon Jennings.

"They didn't quit," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. "That's a positive. But we have to get off to better starts. That start, I think they had 24 points in the first six and a half minutes of the game. That's probably where the game was lost right there. They battled back, but it takes a lot of energy."

"We didn't come out with the same energy they did," Porzingis said. "They were hitting shots, we weren't getting stops defensively. We didn't come out with the right mindset. They did, and we needed time to come back and get ourselves in that mindset. ... We proved that even being down 21 we can still come back and give ourselves a chance to win the game. We just didn't hit some shots at the end that usually we make. We fell short, but I liked the way we battled back and we showed good character."

NOTES: The Knicks were without F Lance Thomas (sore ankle). ... The Hornets lost G Marco Belinelli during the game with a strained hamstring, and the Hornets aren't sure how serious the injury is. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford said he expects G Nic Batum (corneal abrasion) to be back for Monday night's game at Memphis. ... The Hornets were only 29 of 42 from the free-throw line, but still made 13 more free throws than the Knicks. ... The Knicks and Hornets meet three times this season, with the final game at New York on Jan. 27. ... The Hornets led the NBA in fewest turnovers most of the season but are now second to Detroit at 11.7 per game. ... Hornets G Kemba Walker is averaging career highs in points (24.3 per game), field goal percentage (47.4 percent), 3-point percentage (41.6) and 3-pointers made (2.8). ... The Knicks return home to face Oklahoma City on Monday.