The New York Knicks' Tuesday night contest against the Charlotte Hornets was the very definition of a trap game. Entering the night having won their past nine games, it seemed like the Knicks would continue to steamroll any and all opposition despite missing Jalen Brunson due to injury. After all, Immanuel Quickley stepped up in Brunson's absence during the Knicks' rousing 2OT win vs. the Boston Celtics on Sunday, and Julius Randle was his usual All-Star self.

However, the Knicks seemed to let go of the gas pedal in the fourth quarter en route to a 112-105 loss to the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. This marked such an unceremonious end to their winning streak that gave them some separation from the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat in the standings.

Even Julius Randle seemed to think that the Knicks merely ran out of steam after giving it their all over the past few games – two of which were hotly-contested matchups against the Heat and Celtics. Nevertheless, like what Josh Hart said, the Knicks simply do not have any excuses for a loss of this nature.

“Ran out gas,” Randle said as he shook his head, per SNY Knicks Videos. “[But] we got to be better, we still got to take care of business.”

Julius Randle, in particular, will feel like he should have performed at a higher level than he did on Tuesday against the Hornets. After tallying 43 and 31 points in his previous two games, he came crashing down to earth, scoring just 16 points on an inefficient 5-17 shooting from the field.

Another Knicks player who fell flat after an incredible showing against the Celtics in their previous game was Immanuel Quickley; after dropping a career-high 38 points, Quickley just tallied 14 points on 5-16 shooting in his encore as the starter.

“I don't think [fatigue is] an excuse. You just don't blame it on that. We just got to play better. I got to play better. We'll learn from it. I know I will,” Quickley said.

The Knicks have an opportunity to start another winning streak when they take on the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night in a battle of feel-good stories.