Through these initial eight days of the season, there has been one constant for the Charlotte Hornets: suitcases.
Suitcases are an essential part of their equipment thanks to a road-heavy schedule, one that continued with their matchup with New York on Wednesday night. The Hornets had won both of their previous games away from home in convincing fashion and their date with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden was their latest chance to see exactly what they could do without LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Cody Martin.
Despite being undermanned yet again, they actually erased a double-digit second-half deficit and actually had an opportunity to keep their road record unblemished. But Gordon Hayward missed a 5-foot floater at the end of regulation, forcing overtime, and the Hornets squandered a late five-point, fourth-quarter edge and succumbed to New York 134-131.
