Jeremy Lin and Amare Stoudemire both scored 26 points, but that was not enough to carry the New York Knicks to their eighth-straight victory and to a record above .500 on Friday night, as they lost at home to the New Orleans Hornets, 89-85. The Knicks now fall to 15-16, which should keep them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference (third place in the Atlantic Division) while the Hornets now have a record of 7-23, which still keeps them at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Tyson Chandler added 10 points to the Knicks' total, and Iman Shumpert came off the bench to add nine. The Hornets were led by a 25-point performance from Trevor Ariza. Marco Belinelli added 17 and Greivis Vasquez scored 15. Every Hornets starter scored at least 12 points while the Knicks had two starters who scored less than five points.
The Knicks play their next three games at home and on Sunday they host the Dallas Mavericks in Madison Square Garden at 1 p.m. (ET). The Knicks should have Lin, Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony against the Mavericks, which should help them bounce back from their close loss to the Hornets.
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