The wins have dried up as surely as the shots have stopped falling for the Knicks. Three consecutive misfiring losses have canceled out whatever early buzz was generated by the preceding three-game winning streak.
RJ Barrett and the Knicks endured yet another wayward shooting night, while 2020 offseason-target Gordon Hayward torched them with 28 of his game-high 34 points in the first half of a 109-88 loss Monday to the Hornets in Charlotte, N.C.
The Knicks (5-6) missed nine of their first 10 field-goal attempts and shot just 39.5 percent from the field overall. That included a 5-for-18 showing — and five straight misses from 3-point range — by Barrett, who finished with 11 points.
The No. 3-overall pick in the 2019 draft is shooting just 36.5 percent for the season and 18.0 percent from long distance, connecting on nine of 50 attempts.
“Just a tough game, another tough game,” Barrett said. “As long as we have 72 of them, every night’s not gonna be your night. Just gotta get back to the lab.
“As a team, we’ve got to just figure this out. We’ve played at a high level before and know we can do it. Just gotta get back to it.”
Kevin Knox scored 17 of his season-high 19 points in the first half, while Austin Rivers started in place of Reggie Bullock — the first lineup change in 11 games under Thibodeau — and finished with 13. Julius Randle (2-for-9) netted a season-low 11 points.
“I try to pick and choose my moments when to talk because everybody is hearing it from everybody right now. We’ve just got to keep going, man,” Rivers said. “We have to be better though. Our defense has been horrendous, which has led us to bad offense. We’ve got to do a better job in the half-court [against] the zone. There’s a lot I could say. We’re young and we’re getting better. We’ll figure it out. Just have to keep going. Just everybody stay with us and stay patient.
“Everybody take a deep breath. We’ve got a lot of games left and we’ll be OK.”
Impressive rookie point guard LaMelo Ball scored only eight points on 3-for-13 shooting for Charlotte (6-5), but he also contributed 14 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the Hornets’ fourth straight win.
Thibodeau talked before the game about the need for his team to rediscover its shooting touch and play representative defense against the Hornets, who have improved with the additions of Hayward, their $120 million offseason sign-and-trade acquisition, and Ball, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.
The Knicks then spotted Charlotte the first 10 points of the game and trailed by as many as 17 in the first quarter. Hayward scorched them for 28 points in the first half on 8 of 12 shooting and 10 straight successful free-throw attempts.
Knox helped keep the score close by nailing five of his eight attempts from long range for a 57-50 Charlotte lead at intermission.
Still, the Knicks committed 10 of their 16 turnovers in the first two quarters, and aside from Knox, the rest of the team was 1-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc. Hayward only scored four points in the third, but the Hornets extended their lead to 82-68 entering the final quarter.
Thibodeau noted afterward that his misfiring team has started to hesitate to shoot from long distance in recent games, especially when opponents are employing a zone defensively.
“We just have to get back to work. We started the game slowly, got in a big hole, fought to get out of it and then fell back in the hole the second half. We’ve got to regroup,” Thibodeau said. “I think as a team we’re just not shooting well right now. Sometimes you’ve got to work your way through those things.”