Before their week off for the All-Star festivities, the 27-26 Knicks will play one more against the 34-20 Hawks. Though they've struggled somewhat of late, the Hawks already have two victories over New York under their belt. They beat the cold-shooting Knicks at Madison Square Garden the day after Thanksgiving, then got them again in Atlanta a few weeks ago. In both games, the relative size of the Hawks- particularly that of Al Horford and Josh Smith- has posed a problem for Mike D'Antoni's club in the paint and on the glass.
Meanwhile, tonight's game carries a little bit of intrigue. New York's Shawne Williams and Atlanta's Marvin Williams insist that there is no bad blood between them following their fistfight in the waning moments of the last game. Amar'e Stoudemire, and Al Horford, though, have exchanged bulletin board material in advance of tonight's contest. Stoudemire puffed his chest to the media a bit in response to Horford's on-court antics, and Horford gave voice to his own manliness after shootaround this afternoon. It's all kind of silly, but expect a battle inside nonetheless.
Tip-off is at 7:30. See Posting and Toasting for more Knicks coverage.