Hawks at Knicks
The highlights have been few and far between for the Atlanta Hawks, but the rebuilding team heads to New York for a Friday matchup with the Knicks after perhaps their best performance of the season. Atlanta led by 11 points after one quarter and held off a late Washington rally on Tuesday for a 118-110 home victory, just the seventh time in 30 games the Hawks have walked off the court winners.
“I thought it was one of our best defensive games,” Atlanta guard Jeremy Lin told the media after scoring 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and finishing 6-for-12 from the field. The Knicks also are struggling, having dropped three consecutive games and eight of their past nine following Wednesday’s 131-109 road defeat at Philadelphia. There was a bit of good news for New York, as leading scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. returned after missing one game with planter fasciitis and scored a team-high 27 points. “I think just one game of rest really helped him,” Knicks coach David Fizdale told reporters. “He came back and felt like himself.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (7-23): Forward John Collins finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Wizards, and in his past 11 games has posted nine double-doubles and is averaging 20.6 points and 11.4 rebounds. Center Dewayne Dedmon has two consecutive double-doubles and is 6-for-6 from 3-point range in that span. The Hawks are third in the league in forced turnovers per game (17.1) but rank last in turnovers committed per contest (18.2).
ABOUT THE KNICKS (9-24): Hardaway averages 21.2 points per game and finished 3-for-7 from 3-point range Wednesday, after shooting 2-for-11 in his previous two contests. Guard Emmanuel Mudiay averaged 20 points per game in his previous nine games entering Wednesday, but finished with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. New York ranks last in the NBA in assists (19.8 per game).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Knicks have allowed 120-plus points four times in their previous eight games.
2. Atlanta G Vince Carter passed Paul Pierce for seventh place on the NBA’s career 3-point list Wednesday (2,145).
3. New York is 2-0 against the Hawks this season, including a 126-107 home victory Oct. 17 in the season opener.