|
 On Tuesday, it was guard Arron Afflalo and forward Carmelo Anthony
who each scored 23 points to help New York to a 107-101 victory. The
Knicks beat the Hawks 111-97 on Sunday and tied the season series at
2-2 against Atlanta.
"Our players took a lot of pride themselves responding to what they
thought was a poor finish in Chicago and took it upon themselves and
took ownership out there and were able to win a couple games against
a really good team," Fisher said. "We felt that pride come out
tonight."
It wasn't as easy. New York nearly wasted a 16-point second-half
lead as Atlanta pulled within two points, and didn't secure the
victory until guard Jose Calderon scored on driving layup with 18
seconds left.
"That's generally how the end-of-game situations happen," Fisher
said. "You can draw some things up that may or may not work, it'
important that players are ready to respond in terms of counters and
what happens next when first and second option is taken away. They
were denying everything and Jose made a back cut and we were able to
finish the game off."
The Knicks (17-19) have won three of their last four and pulled
within 2 1/2 games of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Afflalo, who scored 38 against the Hawks on Sunday, shot 9 for 16,
including 2 for 2 on 3-pointers. He added seven rebounds and four
assists.
"He hit shots," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He hit some
tough shots. He made plays. Twenty-three is better than 38, but he
still played extremely well."
Anthony shot 8 for 22 with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Forward Kristaps Porzingis scored 17 points on 7 for 12 shooting and
added 11 rebounds. Forward Derrick Williams came off the bench to
score 15.
Atlanta (21-15) was led by forward Paul Millsap (19 points and seven
rebounds), who played through a minor injury to his right knee when
he fell awkwardly in the third quarter.
The Hawks also got 16 points from guard Jeff Teague, but he failed
to record an assist in a game for the first time since Jan. 24,
2014.
Guard Kent Bazemore scored 15 points, center Al Horford had 13
points and 10 rebounds and guard Kyle Korver scored 12 for Atlanta.
"It's frustrating because I feel like we are playing hard," Atlanta
center Al Horford said. "We're doing some good things out there but
we keep having mental lapses as a group, forgetting assignments,
little things. In order to win, it's hard, you have to be able to do
those things consistently."
The Knicks shot 50 percent in the first quarter to take a 29-20
lead, with Afflalo scoring eight. The Hawks shot 38.9 percent, but
only two starters scored in the period -- Bazemore with eight and
Teague with seven.
[to top of second column] |
Budenholzer even tried guard Dennis Schroder, who had not played the
last two games, and guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who had not played since
Nov. 28.
The Hawks cut the lead to 31-30 with 9:44 left in the half on a
3-pointer by Hardaway, but New York responded with an 11-2 run and
led 42-32 at 4:28.
Anthony had 13 in the half and the Knicks led 54-49. Teague had 13
at the half for Atlanta, which had eight turnovers and shot 43.8
percent.
New York continued to pull away in the third quarter and led by as
many as 16 after center Robin Lopez scored to make it 73-57 with
6:54 left.
The Hawks rallied to within eight when forward Mike Scott made a
3-pointer to cut the lead to 79-71.
New York regained the momentum and led 84-71 at the end of three.
Atlanta outscored New York 30-23 in the last quarter. The Hawks
trimmed the lead to 103-101 when Schroder made one of two free
throws. Anthony grabbed the miss and the ball worked its way to
Calderon, who scored with three seconds left on the shot clock.
"We have to play better for more of the 48 minutes," Budenholzer
said. "We have to make less mistakes for more of the 48 minutes.
Otherwise, you'll find yourself in big deficits and big holes. It
takes a lot of energy and a lot of fight to come back, which I
credit our guys for fighting and competing. But we have to be better
for more of the 48 minutes."
NOTES: Atlanta F Tiago Splitter was out for the fourth straight game
with a right calf strain. He has missed seven previous games with an
injured right hip. Guard Justin Holiday was the other inactive. ...
Knicks F Lou Amundson stunned teammates by showing up at the morning
shootaround with a crew cut. The veteran chopped off his trademark
ponytail to go with a hairstyle he hadn't worn since playing at
UNLV. ... Atlanta plays at Philadelphia on Thursday. New York
continues a three-game road trip in Miami on Wednesday.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
