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Surging Hornets return home to face hapless Knicks

Apr 4, 2008 - 1:25 PM New York (20-55) at New Orleans (52-22) 8:00 pm EDT

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - After wrapping up a successful East Coast road trip, the New Orleans Hornets return home to face the lowly New York Knicks on Friday.

New Orleans went 5-1 on its longest road trip of the season, which ended with a 106-77 victory over Miami on Wednesday.

David West scored 22 points and Tyson Chandler added 20 on a perfect 10-for-10 shooting and 10 rebounds in the win.

The Hornets are still clinging to first place in the Western Conference, leading red-hot San Antonio (52-23) by one-half game in the standings. The Spurs have won eight straight games.

While New Orleans is in prime position to make its first postseason appearance since the 2003-04 season, New York is seemingly just waiting for the campaign to be over with.

The Knicks have gone 2-16 over their last 18 games and are coming off a 130-114 setback to lowly Memphis on Wednesday. Zach Randolph had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Crawford added 24 and eight assists.

The only good news for New York may be the announcement of new president Donnie Walsh, who may finally fire former president and current coach Isiah Thomas in the near future.

"I need to sit down with Isiah and have a meaningful basketball discussion," Walsh said Wednesday afternoon during a news conference at Madison Square Garden. "Then I'll know how I feel about (the coaching situation)."

Thomas has guided New York to a 53-104 record over the past two seasons and is 0-1 in the courtroom after losing a sexual harrassment suit to a former Knicks executive this past October.