The Atlanta Hawks got the best of the New York Knicks in the first of their little two-game set, but now the series shifts to Madison Square Garden where the home team is looking to take advantage of the crowd. The Knicks defense struggled heavily against the 3-point shooting attack the Atlanta Hawks have and will aim to avoid a fifth straight loss as the two teams meet again on Monday.
Kyle Korver and company took big advantage over the Knicks' struggling defense. The Hawks went 9 of 22 from beyond the arc for the 103-96 win. Atlanta currently leads the NBA in 3-point shooting at 41.0 percent and much of that is Korver's doing. The veteran led the NBA in 2013-14 going 47.2 percent from beyond the arc and on his way to repeating that success after hitting 6 of 9 against the Knicks. Against the Knicks, Korver has hit at least two 3-point shots in 11 straight games against the team.
Mike Scott is also contributing the long-range game of Atlanta. He has hit 10 of 20 3-point attempts while DeMarre Carroll is 10 of 21 from beyond the arc. The Hawks have struggled on the road so far this season going winless to begin the year. The team is hoping their new found offensive momentum helps propel them at Madison Square Garden.
New York continues to look out of sync and some of that is due to injuries. Tim Hardaway Jr will get the nod once again as Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and Pablo Prigioni continues to sit out. That is not helping Carmelo Anthony get on track with his game. The Knicks are currently off to one of their worst starts in franchise history and their defense that is allowing opponents to shoot 41.0 from beyond the arc is not helping them. Anthony is shooting less than previous years a result of the triangle offense, but that is not helping the Knicks win any games. Derek Fisher is confident that things will start to improve and he hopes it begins against the Hawks.