The Atlanta Hawks head north to the Big Apple to take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday afternoon.
The Hawks check in to Monday as one of the NBA’s hottest commodities, having managed victories in eight of their last nine games. Their most recent triumph came at the expense of the Milwaukee Bucks, which they toppled by a 111-98 margin on Sunday. Atlanta was led by Kent Bazemore, who produced his second-best scoring total of the season with 24 points, which he supplemented with two rebounds, an assist and a pair of steals. The recently-acquired Mike Dunleavy chipped in off the bench with 20 points, three rebounds and two assists. Paul Millsap generated a full stat line of 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks. Dwight Howard supplied a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double that also included two assists, a steal and a block. Thabo Sefolosha turned in 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and three steals. Malcolm Delaney continued his recent surge with nine points, nine assists, a rebound and a steal in 26 minutes off the bench. Atlanta was on fire from the floor, as they posted respective 52.5 and 50.0 percent success rates from the field and three-point range.
On the Hawks injury front, Mike Muscala will miss Monday’s game with the ankle injury he suffered early in Sunday’s victory.
The Knicks’ season continues to spiral downward, with the latest disappointment a 116-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, their 10th loss in the last 12 games. Playing without Kristaps Porzingis for a second straight contest, the Knicks were led by Carmelo Anthony’s 18 points, although he was only able to add a rebound and an assist to his stat line. Justin Holiday was the second-leading scorer for the Knicks and accomplished the distinction from the bench, as he totaled 17 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal over 26 minutes. Derrick Rose was next with 16 points, three assists, two rebounds and a block. Joakim Noah notably contributed just one point but did haul in eight boards. Lance Thomas had to exit the contest after just two minutes as a result of an elbow to the face. Mindaugas Kuzminskas provided nine points, two rebounds and an assist in 23 minutes off the bench in his stead.
The Knicks will be without Thomas for Monday’s game after he suffered a broken orbital bone and concussion-like symptoms due to the elbow he took from Jonas Valanciunas in Sunday’s contest. Porzingis is also considered doubtful with his aforementioned Achilles injury.
The game marks the third of four meetings between the two teams this season. New York and Atlanta have each notched a victory in their respective arenas, with the Knicks prevailing 104-94 on Nov. 20 and the Hawks coming back to take the rematch, 102-98, on Dec. 28.
