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Balanced Knicks ease past shorthanded Hawks

Feb 23, 2012 - 5:22 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Jeremy Lin netted 17 points and dished out nine assists as the New York Knicks eased past the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks, 99-82, at Madison Square Garden.

Steve Novak also scored 17 points for New York, which improved to 9-2 over its last 11 games. Landry Fields had 16 points, Carmelo Anthony dropped in 15 and J.R. Smith contributed 12 for the Knicks.

"There are a lot of guys on this bench that would be starting on other teams. It's a very, very deep team and we have to use that to our advantage," Knicks center Tyson Chandler said.

Jeff Teague had a game-high 18 points for Atlanta, which will be without leading scorer Joe Johnson until after the All-Star break because of tendinitis in his left knee.

Willie Green added 16 points and Josh Smith had 13 with seven rebounds in Atlanta's fifth loss in six games.

The Knicks opened the game with a 7-2 run that included five points by Fields, but Atlanta responded with a 14-7 spurt to take a 16-14 lead on a Teague layup.

New York closed the first with a 16-0 run, though, as the Hawks failed to record a basket and turned the ball over seven times over the final four minutes of the frame en route to a 30-16 deficit at the buzzer.

"I thought they did a good job of dictating the pace of the game early," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said about the Knicks. "We took a lot of ill-advised shots and we turned the basketball over, which you can't do on the road."

McGrady ended the Hawks' offensive drought when he started the second quarter with a jumper, but Smith answered with a trey to put New York ahead, 33-18, and Atlanta never got closer than 13 points for the rest of the half.

The Knicks shot 54.5 percent in the second as they gradually increased their lead, ending the half with a 60-35 advantage.

Lin and Fields recorded 13 points apiece to pace the Knicks in the first half, while Teague netted 10 points for the Hawks, who shot just 35.9 percent from the floor and went 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.

The Hawks threatened to get back in the game in the third quarter, ripping off a 19-2 run after New York took its largest lead of the contest, 67-37, on Anthony's three-pointer two minutes into the period.

However, the Knicks recorded the final nine points of the third to stretch their lead to 78-56 entering the fourth quarter, and they cruised to the easy victory.

Game Notes

New York closed out a five-game homestand with a 3-2 record and improved to 10-9 as the host this season...Atlanta went 1-4 on a five-game road trip to fall to 10-9 on the road this year...The Hawks shot 8-for-29 from three-point range, while the Knicks went 8-for-22 from long distance...New York held a 54-38 advantage on points in the paint.