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Second-half surge lifts Hawks over Knicks

Nov 9, 2014 - 4:54 AM Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Korver scored 27 points and helped lead a second-half rally that propelled the Atlanta Hawks to a 103-96 victory over the New York Knicks in the opener of a home-and-home series.

Korver knocked down 6-of-9 attempts from 3-point range, with four of those makes occurring after halftime, as the Hawks overcame a 13-point deficit at the break to halt a two-game skid and send the Knicks to a fourth consecutive loss.

Atlanta also held Carmelo Anthony in check over the final two quarters to come back, with just six of the All-Star forward's 20 points coming after intermission.

"We were more focused on our defense," Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer said of the second half. "The offense will come, we'll make shots and guys will finish. Defensively is where we need to keep our focus."

Jeff Teague added 19 points for Atlanta and Paul Millsap recorded a double- double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Iman Shumpert finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting for slumping New York, which received 15 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. Anthony tallied nine rebounds in addition to his 20-point effort.

The Hawks trailed 61-48 at the half and were down 10 midway through the third quarter before closing out the period on an 11-3 run, which Korver began by draining a triple. Thabo Sefolosha contributed six points during the flurry, the last two on a driving layup off a Dennis Schroder steal that put Atlanta up 75-74 heading into the fourth.

Hardaway's 3-pointer with 5:59 remaining gave New York a brief 88-87 edge, but Korver sank another trey around a pair of Teague layups to give the Hawks a six-point lead with four minutes to go.

Shumpert converted a finger-roll shot to get the Knicks back within four, but Carroll hit an open three from the corner with 1:25 left for a 97-90 advantage and Atlanta held on the rest of the way.

"It happened so fast," said Anthony of Atlanta's comeback. "I thought they made some adjustments, kind of picked their tempo up in the third quarter. They outscored us (27-13) in the third. You ain't going to win games like that, to be honest with you."

Returning home from a tough double-overtime loss in Charlotte on Friday, the Hawks were sluggish early on. Atlanta shot just 27.3 percent in the first quarter and fell behind by double digits midway through the frame after a 9-0 run staked the Knicks to a 19-7 lead.

The Hawks trailed 32-20 after one quarter but made some headway in the second, with Korver recording six points during a 12-2 stretch that pulled Atlanta within 38-35 with just over six minutes left in the half. New York countered with an 8-1 flurry, however, and went up by as many as 15 points before cruising into the break owning a 61-48 advantage.

Anthony led the charge by dropping in 14 first-half points and pulling down eight rebounds. He managed just one basket in the third quarter, however, and went scoreless in the fourth until hitting a 3-pointer in the final minute.

Game Notes

Anthony finished 8-of-20 from the field and just 2-of-9 in the second half ... Schroder finished with career highs of 11 points and five steals in 20 minutes off the bench ... Knicks point guard Pablo Prigioni sat out a second straight game with a sprained right ankle ... Atlanta recorded 10 steals to New York's two ... The teams will square off again Monday in Madison Square Garden.