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Saturday, Jan. 15 8:00pm ET
Hornets still in no shape to play | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- The tears in David Wesley's bloodshot eyes told the story moments before tipoff. The grieving wasn't over, even if the basketball game was about to begin. Wesley and the Hornets were in no shape to play Saturday night, and it showed at the start and at the finish. Playing just three days after the death of teammate Bobby Phills in a car crash, Charlotte lost 91-79 to the New York Knicks.
Although there were bursts of energy and moments of cohesiveness, the Hornets started slowly and finished poorly in their first time together on a court since the Wednesday morning practice after which Phills was killed. Wearing black patches with Phills uniform No. 13 on their shoulders, along with "13 B.P." etched in chalk on their sneakers, the Hornets trailed almost the entire game as they lost their seventh straight. New York started the game with a 19-7 run and locked up the victory with a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter after Charlotte rallied to tie it 63. "I'm not going to allow us to wallow in pity and sorrow. We have a job to do," coach Paul Silas said before the game. But no matter how many words of encouragement he spoke or how hard the players tried to put the tragedy out of their minds, the gravity of Phills' death cast a pall over the team. Phills was killed instantly Wednesday morning when he lost control of his speeding Porsche and it crashed into another vehicle. The 30-year-old player left behind a wife and two children, ages 3 and 1. Wesley, who was speeding alongside Phills when the crash took place, stood shuffling his feet from side to side with his eyes growing watery as the crowd observed a moment of silence prior to tipoff. Wesley, who was hugged by Latrell Sprewell and Larry Johnson of the Knicks just before the jump ball, missed his first two field goal attempts and his first foul shot. He finished 2-for-11 from the field with six points and nine assists. Sprewell led the Knicks with 20 points, Johnson had 17, Marcus Camby 14 and Allan Houston 13. Eddie Jones, playing his first game since straining an elbow ligament Dec. 20, led Charlotte with 23 points. The Hornets missed seven of their first eight shots and fell behind by double digits less than eight minutes into the game before summoning the strength to rally back and tie it early in the fourth. Of course, just summoning the fortitude to go back to work was a difficult enough task so soon after the tragedy. Charlotte's games Wednesday and Friday were postponed. "We're going through a very, very trying time, but the bottom line is that basketball is what brought us all together. That's how we got to know Bobby Phills," Silas said. Brad Miller made two foul shots to tie it one minute into the fourth quarter, but Johnson and Sprewell hit 3-pointers, Kurt Thomas had a three-point play, and Camby and Thomas followed with dunks as the Knicks quickly went back up by 11. A 3-pointer by Jones got the deficit down to seven with 1:40 left, but Charlie Ward and Houston answered with 3-pointers to wrap up the win. Game notesThe emotion of the night had an effect on Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who got teary-eyed in his pregame meeting with reporters when he discussed the death of Rick Pitino's infant daughter in 1987. Van Gundy was a graduate assistant to Pitino at Providence at the time. ... Jones was injured at Madison Square Garden when he was fouled by the Knicks' Thomas. Charlotte went 2-8 without him. ... The Hornets have lost nine straight on the road. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Charlotte Clubhouse New York Clubhouse Wesley drove with suspended license day of Phills crash
Phills' 3-year-old son: 'Daddy is with the angels'
NBA postpones Hornets' game Friday vs. Knicks
Investigators: Phills was racing at time of fatal crash
Phills remembered for his strong character
Phills' death hits Cavaliers hard
Reporter: Classy Phills will be missed
RECAPS Detroit 112 Washington 107
New York 91
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