Arron Affalo And Carmelo Anthony Lead Knicks To Win Over Hawks

Arron Affalo and Carmelo Anthony helped lead the New York Knicks to a 107-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Center in Atlanta on Tuesday. This was the Knicks’ second win over the Hawks in just three days. They also beat Atlanta 117-97 in New York on Sunday. Affalo and Anthony both scored 23 points.

ARRON AFFALO AND CARMELO ANTHONY LEAD KNICKS TO WIN OVER HAWKS

The Knicks nearly lost a 16-point lead during the third quarter of the game, but Jose Calderon scored on a drive with 18 seconds left after the lead became reduced to two points. “It’s hard to beat a team twice in a row,” Anthony said. “We just had a different focus coming into tonight.”

Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 19 points. Jeff Teague had 16. New York’s 7-foot Latvian rookie Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Afflalo opened the second half with two 3s, which granted the Knicks a 60-49 lead and forced Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer to call a timeout. Less than a minute later, Budenholzer called another timeout after Porzingis and Robin Lopez scored back-to-back baskets. Porzingis blocked a shot by Millsap, which led to the jam by Lopez.

“We dug ourselves a hole to start the third quarter,” Budenholzer stated. “We can’t put ourselves there. It takes a lot of energy and a lot of fight to come back. I credit our guys for fighting and competing. But we have to be better for more of the 48 minutes.”