Walker, Jefferson help Hornets bounce back, beat Knicks

Charlotte Hornets’ Al Jefferson (25) is defended by New York Knicks’ Kyle O’Quinn (9) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in New York. AP

NEW YORK, New York—Kemba Walker scored 34 points, Al Jefferson had 24 and the Charlotte Hornets bounced back from consecutive losses to the Eastern Conference’s top teams by beating the New York Knicks 111-97 on Wednesday night.

Charlotte, which fell in Cleveland on Sunday and Toronto on Tuesday, had dropped a game behind Boston and Miami for fourth place and needed a win to renew its hopes of getting home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Walker scored 13 points in the first quarter – more than he had in the entire game a night earlier – and Jefferson helped Charlotte break it open by scoring 10 points in the first 4 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Derrick Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Carmelo Anthony returned from a game off to rest and scored 15 points.