The Knicks showed some grit, but it was too little, too late against a Hawks team that got hot for long stretches of tonight's game. While the Knicks looked sluggish on both ends, Atlanta's misses were few and far between. Joe Johnson (34 points), Josh Smith (24) and Al Horford (19) kept the Hawks rolling from inside and out, and anything that came off the rim got cleaned up by Horford and his frontcourt friends. Whether shooting the lights out or rebounding their own mistakes, Atlanta had the Knicks down by more than 20 mid-way through the third quarter.
Suddenly, as is often the case, the Knicks tightened up their defense and chipped into the lead. Much like the previous game against Miami, the Knicks went on a run because they simply started canning their open shots. This time, though, they had a massive 24-point deficit to overcome, and a flurry of scoring from Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Landry Fields and Amar'e Stoudemire just wasn't enough.
Things got a little heated in the waning moments. Shawne Williams took exception to a shove in the back from Marvin Williams, and the two went at each other before being separated. Both were ejected, and a suspension or two may or may not follow.
The Knicks now head back to New York for a Sunday evening match-up with the Pistons.
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