Lowly Knicks Suffer Blowout Loss in Atlanta
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Al Harrington scored 26 points and the Atlanta Hawks pulled away in the second half for their biggest win of the season, a 120-101 rout of the turnoverplagued Knicks last night.
Knicks forward Antonio Davis was set to return from a five-game suspension, handed down by the NBA after he charged into the stands in defense of his wife at Chicago. But Davis was a late scratch from the starting lineup because of a sore back. He watched from the bench as the Knicks were humiliated by the Hawks, who came into the night tied with Charlotte for fewest wins in the league.
Before the game, Davis discussed the incident that led to his suspension.
“Some may say I overreacted, some may say that my wife should have called security – any of that,” he said in the locker room. “Bottom line is, it all happened. Hopefully something like that won’t happen again”
The 19-point margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Hawks, eclipsing a pair of 11-point wins. They just fell short of their highest-scoring game of the season, a 122-111 victory over the Knicks, appropriately enough.
Atlanta took control with a 12-4 run to close the first half. New York totally fell apart in the third quarter with a staggering 12 turnovers, which led to 17 points for the appreciative Hawks.
The Knicks’ carelessness with the ball came in all shapes and sizes. They lost it out of bounds. They made bad passes. They threw it back over the half-court line.They were called for offensive fouls. They even double-dribbled.
After going up 61-53 at halftime, the Hawks stretched the lead to 92-69 by the end of the third quarter.They made 11-of-19 shots in the period, compared with 5-of-14 shooting by the Knicks.
Atlanta stretched the margin to 99-69 – its largest of the night – on Salim Stoudamire’s 3-pointer. the Knicks lost the ball 23 times in all, leading to a 23-11 edge for the Hawks in points off turnovers.
Stoudamire had 13 points, one of four players off the Atlanta bench who reached double figures. In all, the Hawks’ reserves totaled 56 points.
New York got most of its production from the backups,as well.David Lee led the Knicks with 18 points, Jackie Butler had 15, and Channing Frye chipped in with 13. Eddy Curry, with 14 points, was the only starter in double figures.
Joe Johnson scored 24 points for the Hawks and reached a couple of personal milestones. He scored the 5,000th point and 2,000 field goals of his career.
