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Hawks' Bibby to play through pain against Knicks

Mar 30, 2008 - 1:00 PM New York (20-52) at Atlanta (32-40) 4:00 pm EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Mike Bibby is determined to lead the Atlanta Hawks back to the playoffs for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

Bibby and the Hawks go for their third straight win Sunday when they host the lowly New York Knicks.

Atlanta (32-40) holds a two-game lead over the New Jersey Nets (31-43) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Despite playing with a sprained left thumb, Bibby scored a season-high 30 points to lead Atlanta to a narrow 106-103 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

The 29-year-old point guard, who was acquired from the Sacramento Kings in February, injured his surgically repaired thumb against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. That didn't stop him from more than doubling his season average of 13 points per game against Chicago.

The Knicks lost for the sixth time in the last seven games, enduring a 103-95 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

Jamal Crawford finished with a team-high 26 points and Jared Jefferies added 21 points and 10 rebounds for New York, which was without the injured Eddy Curry, Nate Robinson and Zach Randolph, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms.