{"id":709210,"date":"2026-04-12T21:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709210\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:00:35","slug":"hornets-aim-to-secure-home-play-in-game-in-season-finale-vs-resting-knicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709210\/","title":{"rendered":"Hornets Aim to Secure Home Play-In Game in Season Finale vs. Resting Knicks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Miami%2C+FL&amp;city=Miami&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Hornets+Aim+to+Secure+Home+Play-In+Game+in+Season+Finale+vs.+Resting+Knicks&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Ffl%2Fmiami%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F12%2Fhornets-aim-to-secure-home-play-in-game-in-season-finale-vs-resting-knicks%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69dbede149748.jpg\" alt=\"A cubist, geometric painting depicting a basketball game with overlapping shapes and planes in the team colors of the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks, capturing the energy and movement of the sport.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>The Hornets look to secure home-court advantage for the Play-In Tournament by taking down a resting Knicks squad in the regular season finale.Today in Miami<\/p>\n<p>The Charlotte Hornets (43-38) wrap up their regular season schedule with a matchup against the third-seeded New York Knicks (53-28) at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have already secured their playoff spot, so they are resting their key players, giving the Hornets a prime opportunity to secure a home Play-In game against the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n<p>        Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>This game is crucial for the Hornets, as a win would give them home-court advantage for their upcoming Play-In Tournament matchup against the Heat. Charlotte has struggled down the stretch, so this is a must-win game to build momentum heading into the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>                The details<\/p>\n<p>The Hornets are looking to bounce back after two tough losses, while the Knicks are sitting their starters with the playoffs already locked up. Charlotte should have a significant advantage and is expected to win comfortably against the Knicks&#8217; reserve unit.<\/p>\n<p>        The game tips off at 6:00 PM Eastern Time on April 12, 2026.This is the final game of the Hornets&#8217; 82-game regular season schedule.<\/p>\n<p>          The players<\/p>\n<p>          Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n<p>An NBA team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that is looking to secure a home Play-In game against the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n<p>New York Knicks<\/p>\n<p>An NBA team based in New York City that has already clinched a playoff spot and is resting its key players for this game.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Miami%2C+FL&amp;city=Miami&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Hornets+Aim+to+Secure+Home+Play-In+Game+in+Season+Finale+vs.+Resting+Knicks&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Ffl%2Fmiami%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F12%2Fhornets-aim-to-secure-home-play-in-game-in-season-finale-vs-resting-knicks%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n                What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>If the Hornets win this game, they will secure a home Play-In Tournament matchup against the Miami Heat. The winner of that game will advance to the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>          The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>This is a must-win game for the Hornets, as a victory would give them home-court advantage for their crucial Play-In Tournament matchup against the Heat. Charlotte needs to take advantage of the Knicks resting their starters and finish the regular season on a high note.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Hornets look to secure home-court advantage for the Play-In&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3777],"tags":[7,684,473,3878,685,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-709210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-charlotte-hornets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-charlotte","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-charlottehornets","12":"tag-hornets","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116393754768266132","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}