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Hawks look to stay afloat in East postseason race

Apr 11, 2008 - 3:06 PM Atlanta (36-42) at New York (23-56) 7:30 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) - The Atlanta Hawks will look to continue their postseason push for the last spot in the Eastern Conference on Friday when they visit the New York Knicks.

Atlanta enters with a two-game lead over the Indiana Pacers (34-44) for the eighth and final spot in the East standings with four games remaining in the regular season.

The Hawks had a chance to capture the tiebreaker advantage over the Pacers, who posted a 112-98 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday.

"They just play harder than us every time we play them," Atlanta guard Joe Johnson said. "It's nothing they're doing. It's not the players they've got. We didn't play hard, so we get our (rear end) kicked."

Jamal Crawford had 18 points to lead five others in double figures as the Knicks posted a 109-107 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats here on Wednesday.

New York has won three games in a row for the first time since the middle of January.

The Hawks also will be looking to make history as they seek their first season sweep over New York, which owns the second-worst home record in the East at 15-24.