The Charlotte Hornets take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.

The Hornets (33-37) remain ahead of the Indiana Pacers for the No. 8 seed by tiebreaker going into Saturday, but they've done themselves no favors by losing three straight games. Their most recent stumble occurred Thursday night, when they dropped a 113-90 decision to the Los Angeles Clippers. LaMelo Ball paced the Hornets with 18 points, supplementing them with seven assists, six rebounds and two steals. Bismack Biyombo delivered 13 points, seven rebounds and one assist. Jalen McDaniels, Terry Rozier and Cody Zeller all generated matching 10-point tallies, with Rozier also dishing out five assists and Zeller pulling down six rebounds.

The Hornets will be without Cody Martin (ankle), Miles Bridges (COVID-19 protocols) and Gordon Hayward (foot) for Saturday's game.

The Knicks (39-31) have already clinched their playoff spot and are guaranteed the No. 6 seed at minimum, and they'll enter Saturday's contest having prevailed in five of their last eight games. Their most recent time on the floor resulted in one of those victories, as they toppled the San Antonio Spurs by a 102-98 score on Thursday night. Alec Burks led the Knicks with 30 points, complementing them with 10 rebounds, two assists and one block. Julius Randle totaled 25 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and one steal. RJ Barrett managed 24 points, nine boards, five assists and one steal.

The Knicks will list Derrick Rose (ankle) as questionable for Saturday's contest.

Saturday's game marks third and final meeting between the teams this season. The series is tied 1-1, with the Hornets having notched a 109-88 win Jan. 11 and the Knicks having countered with a 109-97 victory April 20.