NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Danilo Gallinari drained a pair  of late three-pointers to help the New York Knicks seal a 97-93  victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday.

The home side led by a single point with 1:43 remaining  before the second-year Italian forward made two straight  triples to extend the lead to seven and help New York claim a  third straight victory. “I thought to myself, I wasn’t being real aggressive  especially in the first two quarters,” Gallinari told  reporters. “They were not playing great defense when I had the  ball so I had to be ready to shoot it.”

Gallinari finished with 17 points, Wilson Chandler had a  team-high 27 and David Lee added 22 for the Knicks (15-20).  The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the  Bobcats (15-19), who held a 71-61 advantage late in the third  but then surrendered 15 straight points.

The Bobcats clawed back behind three-pointers and tied the  game with 2:20 left before New York answered with its own  string of threes.

Stephen Jackson had a team-high 26 points and Ronald Murray  scored 20 off the bench for the Bobcats, who have recently been  hitting their stride.

Charlotte acquired Jackson in a trade with Golden State on  Nov. 16 and the developing team chemistry has the Bobcats in  the hunt for their first ever Eastern Conference playoff spot.

New York has also been inspired as of late, winning 12 of  their last 18 contests. The Knicks’ latest triumph completed  the season series between the teams as both sides won twice.

New York played without high-scoring forward Al Harrington  (calf) but still managed to shoot 53 percent (39-for-73) from  the field while making half of their three-point attempts.

The home team led 49-44 at halftime, lost control in the  third and regained it early in the fourth.

“We were facing a really good Charlotte team who has been  playing exceptionally well,” New York coach Mike D’Antoni said.

“Each guy that played had a big play, a play that was a  back-breaker. And I just thought we played very solid.”