Tim Hardaway Jr. had 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting and four bench players scored in double-figures as the New York Knicks defeated the visiting Charlotte Hornets, 124-101, on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Dwight Howard, who had a string of recent 30-point games, had just 14 points to go along with his 13 rebounds and Dwayne Bacon had 15 points off the bench to lead the Hornets, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.

New York, which came into the game having lost nine straight and 17 of 18, broke out of its slump with a huge offensive performance, particularly in the third quarter.

The Knicks trailed by two after one quarter but had a big second, outscoring the Hornets, 35-26. That was nothing compared to their third-quarter outburst, when New York scored 42 points and held Charlotte to just 14.

Leading by as much as 38, the Knicks scored a season high for points, with the reserves contributing an astounding 72 points.

Frank Ntilikina had 15 points to lead New York's bench, Trey Burke had 14 and Troy Williams had 13. Isaiah Hicks also had 12 points for New York, whose starters aside from Hardaway all played 23 or fewer minutes. Kyle O'Quinn had just four points off the bench but had nine rebounds and finished plus-32.

Frank Kaminsky had 12 points off the bench for Charlotte, and Kemba Walker and Marvin Williams each added 10 points.

New York shot 49 percent from the field and 46 percent from long distance and finished with 24 assists. More importantly for a Knicks squad whose defense has faltered in recent weeks, they held Charlotte to 37 percent shooting and 27 percent from 3-point range.

The Knicks remain at Madison Square Garden on Monday night to close out a five-game homestand against the Chicago Bulls.

Charlotte, which has lost two of three, stays on the road with a Monday night showdown with the 76ers in Philadelphia.

--Field Level Media