Hawks vs. Knicks Preview
NEW YORK, NY – The New York Knicks haven’t defeated a team with a winning record during their current run. They get a chance to change that when they face an Atlanta Hawks club that hasn’t beaten an opponent over .500 this season.
The Knicks look to win six straight for the first time in nearly five years when they host the Hawks on Saturday.
New York’s five consecutive victories have come against teams that are a combined 19-41 heading into Friday’s games.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Knicks -1.5 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against the Hawks. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 50% of more than 386 bets for this game have been placed on the Knicks -1.5
The Knicks (8-8) finished a home-and-home sweep of Charlotte with a 99-95 road win Wednesday. New York’s last six-game winning streak was from Jan. 2-13, 2006.
“Winning five straight feels great,” said forward Amare Stoudemire, averaging 25.8 points with 8.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks during the streak. “But being 8-8 and .500 is something that we’ve got to improve on. We still have a lot of work to do.”
The Knicks may want to start at the defensive end. Despite leading the league with 7.9 blocks per game – 4.2 more than last season, when it was last in the NBA – New York is giving up 107.1 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting.
The Knicks, 2-4 at Madison Square Garden, will face a Hawks team that has a Eastern Conference-best 5-2 road record. Atlanta’s 104.0-point average in road contests is among the highest in the league.
Coach Larry Drew’s club is shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from 3-point range away from Atlanta.
The Hawks (9-7) snapped a three-game slide with a 116-96 win over Washington on Thursday. The victory was Atlanta’s most lopsided of 2010-11.
“We hadn’t had a game like this all season,” forward Josh Smith said after scoring 20 points with a season-best 14 rebounds and two blocks. “We have to make a statement every time we play a division team. We just have to get wins at this point.”
The Hawks also need leading scorer Joe Johnson to continue to shoot better. The four-time All-Star went 8 for 16 and scored a team-high 21 points Thursday, but averaged 12.2 on 31.8 percent shooting in the previous five games.
Johnson scored 24.5 points per game with 6.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists as Atlanta lost three of four to New York last season.
The Knicks have been getting strong play out of point guard Raymond Felton, who had 23 points with a season-best 13 assists against his former teammates Wednesday. Felton is averaging career highs of 17.8 points and 8.0 assists in his first season with New York.
Coming off his ninth double-double with 15 points and 13 boards, Al Horford will look for another big game against the Knicks. He has averaged 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in five career games in New York, though his last one there ended in disappointment.
On March 8, Horford’s short jumper was waved off after replays showed it came after the final buzzer in a 99-98 loss.
Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 27 points in that matchup for the Knicks, winners of 19 of 25 against the Hawks at MSG.
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