Sunday, February 4, 2018 12:00 PM (ET)

Hawks send struggling Knicks to 3rd straight loss

Field Level Media
Feb 4, 2018
Kent Bazemore hit a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds left to lift the visiting Atlanta Hawks to a 99-96 win over the slumping New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Tim Hardaway Jr. was ruled out of bounds on the ensuing possession and the Knicks lost their third straight game and sixth of eight to fall a season-worst eight games under .500 (23-31).

Bazemore had 19 points and Mike Muscala had 15 off the bench, including a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to cut New York's lead to one.

Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting to lead the Knicks, and recent acquisition Trey Burke added 14 points. Enes Kanter had 10 points and 12 rebounds for New York, but Hardaway was stifled for the third straight game.

Atlanta came into the game with its defense awry, having allowed 119 or more points in four of its previous five contests, after opposing teams hit that number just six times in their first 47 games.

The Knicks, meanwhile, came in on a two-game losing streak in which they scored just a combined 163 points.

Something had to give.

On Sunday, the Hawks held New York to just 38 first-half points, making up for their own poor shooting by limiting the Knicks to 36 percent shooting on 45 attempts. Atlanta shot just 37 percent in the first half, with Dennis Schroder going 1-for-11 from the field.

But Porzingis was just 2-for-10 for six points, while Kanter was held scoreless.

Both came alive in the third quarter as New York surged back to take the lead. The Knicks led for much of the fourth quarter but Atlanta battled back as five Hawks scored in double-figures and Dewayne Dedmon had a clutch free throw with three seconds left to increase Atlanta's lead to three.

Schroder finished with 10 points on just 2-of-16 shooting.

-- Field Level Media

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