New York City, New York - The New York Knicks used defense and second-half scoring to nab their seventh-straight win on Tuesday.

The Knicks were looking to keep on rolling as they welcomed the Hornets into Madison Square Garden – and that's exactly what they did, beating Charlotte 109-97.

New York is on track to seal a playoff spot as the postseason gets closer. In a hard-fought game, the Knicks came out victorious for their seventh straight regular-season win. They hammered down on defense in the second half to hold the Hornets to just 31 points after halftime.

RJ Barrett (20) led the Knicks with 24 points, 18 of them coming during New York's second-half push. Teammate Julius Randle scored 16 points, with 10 rebounds and seven assists. Both Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley stepped up big, coming off the bench and scoring 17 points each.

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For Charlotte, PJ Washington put in a strong showing after coming on. He led all scorers in the game with 26 points. Terry Rozier also notched 21 points, with seven rebounds and eight assists in the Hornet's losing effort.

The Knicks are right back at it with the Atlanta Hawks coming to town on Wednesday, while the Hornets head to Chicago to face the Bulls on Thursday.

The Hawks held strong at home to beat the Magic 112-96, while Kyrie Irving scored 32 points to get the Nets past the Pelicans 134-129.

Karl-Anthony Towns led his team with 26 points and 18 rebounds as the T'Wolves defeated the Kings 134-120. And out west, the Clippers survived against the Trail Blazers 113-112.

The Heat will travel down to San Antonio to take on the Spurs on Wednesday night, and the Warriors and the Wizards play each other in Washington DC.