The New York Knicks (17-19) defeated the Altanta Hawks (21-15) 107-101 on Saturday.
The Knicks have shown considerable signs of improvement so far in the 2015-16 campaign, after lossing a whopping 65 games last season. A tangible sign of that progress has come over the last two games, when New York managed to get the best of the first-place and playoff-caliber Atlanta Hawks in each team’s home arena. Tuesday’s victory may have been even more impressive than Sunday’s, considering it was accomplished on the road at Philips Arena and that the Knicks were successfully able to withstand a late push from the home team and hang on for the win. The Hawks entered the final period trailing 84-71, but closed to within two after Dennis Schroder’s free throw made it 103-101 with 40 seconds remaining. However, Carmelo Anthony secured the defensive rebound on Schroder’s intentional miss of his second attempt from the charity stripe, and then drained two key free throws himself with 13 seconds to extend the lead to the final margin of 107-101.
Anthony led the way for New York scoring-wise, tallying 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a pair of blocks. Arron Afflalo, who decimated the Hawks on Sunday with a 38-point barrage, put together a solid encore performance by matching Anthony’s scoring output and adding seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Kristaps Porzingis joined Anthony in the double-double department, collecting 17 points and hauling in 11 boards. Derrick Williams paced the Knicks’ reserves with an efficient 15 points, four rebounds and an assist over just 16 minutes
The Knicks improved to 17-19 and remain in third place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. They head to Miami to take on the Heat on Wednesday.
Atlanta received double-digit scoring from all five starters, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. Paul Millsap spearheaded the attack with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal, but missed a 26-foot three-point running jumper with seven seconds left that would have brought the Hawks within three. Jeff Teague was next in line with 16 points, but could not contribute much else, failing to dish out any assists and only tallying a rebound and a steal otherwise. Kent Bazemore (15 points, five rebounds) and Kyle Korver (12 points, three rebounds) were productive, and Al Horford managed his third double-double in four games with 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and a pair of blocks.
The Hawks fell to 21-15 and remain in second place in the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division. They head to Philadelphia for a showdown with the Sixers on Thursday.
