CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many of his fellow starters owe point guard Kemba Walker an apology for ruining his first game in Charlotte as a Knick.
Other than Walker, the Knicks’ starters couldn’t get it done on a wild night at Spectrum Center before a wild crowd that was half-filled with New York fans.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau had implored his starting unit, in profane language, to get it together two days earlier, but they still struggled.
Walker, who played for Charlotte from 2011-19, came out like monster and the Knicks got up big, but then they disintegrated in the second half of a brutal 104-96 loss to the Hornets on Friday night.
After the Knicks fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter, the bench nearly saved them again in the fourth, but couldn’t bring it home.
Walker, the all-time leading scorer in Charlotte history, finished with 26 points (9-for-16 shooting, 4-for-8 from 3-point range), but Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Evan Fournier laid eggs as the Knicks lost their second straight and fell to 7-6.
Walker’s 20-point first-half looked like the impetus to a bounce-back win that might put to rest Thibodeau’s “bunch of bulls–t’’ rant about the starters needing more time to jell after the Knicks’ loss to the Bucks on Wednesday.
They still need more time. Randle scored 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting and missed three straight free throws in the final 58 seconds. Barrett was held to two points (1-for-8) and Even Fournier finished with five points.
Thibodeau went back to Walker, Randle and Barrett in the game’s final minutes, but they didn’t have any spark — even Walker lost his early-game mojo. To add to the Knicks’ woes, backup point guard Derrick Rose seemed to hurt his ankle midway through the fourth quarter.
The starters frittered away what had been a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter, stinking it up on both ends as the Hornets roared back to take a 12-point bulge in the third quarter.
The Knicks’ bench brigade was highlighted by Alec Burks (15 points) and Immanuel Quickley (nine points), who both got hot from downtown.
Miles Bridges, whom the Knicks passed on in the 2019 draft, was terrific late for the Hornets, finishing with 24 points. Gordon Hayward added 22 points for Charlotte.
After Obi Toppin executed a showboat, breakaway windmill dunk with a little more than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bridges answered a minute later with his own windmill, then stared at the Knicks bench. Toppin’s extravagant dunk seemed to ignite the Hornets.
Meanwhile, Walker blasted out of the gate, swishing two straight 3-pointers and sinking a floater in the opening minutes. Walker had 11 points after 4:22 after not notching double figures in the last four outings. He had 20 by halftime after scoring 19 in his last four games combined.
And it was all for naught.