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Anthony and Bargnani help Knicks down Hawks

Dec 15, 2013 - 5:30 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony poured in 35 points and Andrea Bargnani added 23 as the New York Knicks came through with a sorely needed 111-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden.

New York entered Saturday's play 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-16 record, but shot a solid 50.6 percent from the floor and forced 27 Atlanta turnovers to prevail. Bargnani hit on 11-of-16 field goal attempts, with Anthony going 13-of-22.

"We made shots tonight. We shared the basketball. We did it on the defensive end," said Anthony. "Everybody committed themselves, put that game behind us from last night and bounced back so today was a great win for us."

The Hawks were dealt a fourth straight road loss despite a 27-point effort off the bench from Lou Williams. Paul Millsap added 18 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta, with Al Horford finishing with 17 points.

"I think tonight was a night where the most aggressive team won. I think you give a lot of credit to the Knicks," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Defensively, they were creating a lot of turnovers, creating a lot of problems for us."

New York never trailed after taking a 43-41 edge on Tim Hardaway Jr.'s 3- pointer with 4:26 left in the second quarter, with the basket igniting a 12-0 run that turned a close game into an 11-point differential.

The Knicks carried a 57-48 lead into halftime, aided by 17 Atlanta giveaways that were converted into 14 points, then quickly extended the margin when Anthony and Bargnani combined for the first five points of the third quarter.

Atlanta was able to whittle down the deficit before the period would end, and closed within 79-77 near the end of the quarter with an 8-2 run highlighted by triples from Kyle Korver and Shelvin Mack.

The Hawks trailed by just four, 87-83, with 7 1/2 minutes left before New York put forth an 11-0 spurt to again create some distance. Anthony began the pivotal sequence with a 3-pointer, Pablo Prigioni scored the next five points, and Bargnani capped it by knocking down a triple for a 98-83 advantage with 5:11 remaining.

Atlanta made one last push, stringing together a 9-2 flurry in which Williams buried a pair of threes, the last cutting the lead to 110-105 with 11.6 seconds left. The Hawks never got another shot off, however.

Game Notes

Millsap went 7-of-9 from the field, but was responsible for nine of Atlanta's turnovers and fouled out with 3:36 left ... The Hawks finished 15-of-32 on 3- point attempts, with Williams going 6-of-13 from long distance ... Knicks guard J.R. Smith managed just two points on 1-for-8 shooting in 24 minutes ... New York forward Kenyon Martin sat out the contest with a abdominal strain ... Hardaway put up 13 points in 27 minutes off the bench.