Hawks at Knicks
Things are beginning to get ugly for the New York Knicks - particularly at the refurbished Madison Square Garden. Fortunately, they'll face a foe against whom they've had plenty of recent success as the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit Saturday night. New York fell to 1-4 at home Thursday with a 109-106 loss to the Houston Rockets, while the Hawks climbed above the .500 mark for the season with a 103-93 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
The Knicks have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Hawks - including a 95-91 decision on Wednesday - and extending that run of dominance may be the only way to keep the fans from rioting. New York dropped its fourth consecutive home game Thursday despite getting 45 points from Carmelo Anthony - the highest-scoring game in the NBA so far this season. The Hawks are impressive in their own right, emerging as one of the league's best offensive teams.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSS (Atlanta), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (5-4): Atlanta bounced back nicely from the humbling home loss to the Knicks, getting a career-high 33 points from Jeff Teague in the victory over the 76ers. While Teague has proven to be a reliable scorer for the new-look Hawks, it's his passing that is earning the majority of the attention. The fifth-year guard out of Wake Forest dished out 10 assists versus Philadelphia, leaving his season average just shy of 10 per game; only Chris Paul (12.9) averages more.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (3-5): Despite a miserable start to the season, New York has to be pleased with the early play of offseason acquisition Andrea Bargnani. The former first overall pick looked tentative in his first few games but has caught fire of late, averaging 20 points on 59.5-percent shooting over his previous three games. He now leads the team in field-goal percentage (51.6), something the Knicks hope will rub off on point guard Raymond Felton (37.6) and shooting guard J.R. Smith (25.7).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Anthony averages 26.9 points in 20 career games versus the Hawks.
2. Atlanta is one of only three Eastern Conference teams averaging better than 104 points.
3. Hawks SF Kyle Korver has made at least one 3-pointer in 82 consecutive games - seven shy of Dana Barros' league record.