The New York Knicks have been struggling with consistency all season, but they certainly found some momentum on Sunday when they blew out the Atlanta Hawks. The team has been criticized for their lack of scoring and balance since the start of the year, but they simply could not miss in their third game against the Hawks even when Carmelo Anthony was held to just 11 points. Can they repeat the success as the matchup shifts to Phillips Arena?
The Knicks dominated the Hawks 111-97 thanks to a breakout game from Arron Afflalo to the tune of 38 points. Much of this season has exposed weaknesses at the guard position for the Knicks as Afflalo and others have struggled to take some of the scoring pressure off Anthony. However, that was not the case against Atlanta. No other player for New York scored more than 16 points as it was Afflalo was carried the team with 7 of his 8 3-point shots going in. Prior to this game, Afflalo was shooting just 31.7 percent while averaging 7.8 points per game. The inspired performance is another chapter in the up and down season for New York as they hope to find some kind of consistency following this performance.
"For me, consistency is more important than great games and very bad games," Afflalo said, via ESPN.com. "The more I can be counted on night in and out, the better it is for the team."
After four days of rest, the Hawks simply had no answer for Afflalo as they were struggling on both sides of the court. Defense has been a problem lately for the Hawks as the Knicks were the second straight opponent to shoot 50 percent on the team. They also surrendered 11 shots from beyond the arc, something that is becoming a habit as well. The Hawks have shown they can clamp down defensively, but they have yet to do so for four quarters as changes must be made.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer continues to tweak the lineup for the Hawks as Dennis Schroder has spent more time on the bench lately while Mike Scott improves on the court. The Hawks are in desperate need of Schroder getting back into form while Kyle Korver needs to bust out of his shooting slump as the 3-point star has not been hitting from deep lately.
