Hawks-Knicks Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Feb 22 2012 10:27AM

Exactly one year ago, the New York Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony in the hopes that he could revive a flagging franchise.

At least for the time being, Jeremy Lin and the phenomenon that is "Linsanity" is having a greater impact.

With the All-Star break looming, Anthony and Lin get another chance to form some chemistry as the Knicks face the sputtering - and potentially short-handed - Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

New York (16-17) felt it needed to acquire a bona fide superstar to turn the corner and become a factor in the Eastern Conference. That led the Knicks to land Anthony from Denver in a three-team, 13-player blockbuster trade Feb. 22, 2011.

Anthony helped New York reach the playoffs after a six-year absence, but the resulting good feelings and high hopes were tempered by an 8-15 start to 2011-12.

Lin has almost single-handedly changed that this month.

After he got released twice in December, the point guard has emerged from obscurity to average 24.6 points and 9.2 assists during an 8-2 run that has returned New York to playoff contention.

Anthony, who missed seven games of the current hot streak with a groin injury, is trying to prove he can coexist with Lin and allay growing fears that he may be a disruption.

He returned from the injury Monday but didn't provide a convincing answer to those fears, scoring 11 points as the Knicks fell 100-92 to New Jersey at MSG. Lin finished with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

"We're not in panic mode, because it doesn't just work where all of sudden people show up and you have great chemistry," Lin said. "So we're going to have to work through some struggles, so as long as we're all committed and buying in, we'll be fine."

Anthony claims he's buying in.

"As far as identity we've had last couple weeks, it was there," Anthony said. "I don't think nothing is going to change. There's going to be an adjustment. New roles. New guys.

"I want Jeremy to have the ball. Hands down. I want him to create for me. I want him to create for Amar'e (Stoudemire). I want him to create for everybody and still be as aggressive as he's been over the past two weeks. I want that."

Anthony and Lin have two more chances to work together before the All-Star break. The Knicks visit Miami on Thursday after hosting Atlanta (19-13).

"We have to get this thing sorted," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We have to figure out the type of team, the identity we have to have."

Anthony is averaging 24.3 points in 14 career meetings with the Hawks, but had just 14 while dishing out seven assists and grabbing seven rebounds in a 92-79 win at Atlanta on March 6 in his only matchup since joining New York.

The Knicks and Hawks split four meetings last season, with each team winning once on the other's home court.

Atlanta has dropped seven of 10 overall and may be forced to play without Joe Johnson, who is doubtful because of tendinitis in his left knee. The All-Star, who leads the Hawks with 17.6 points per game, had 12 before exiting in the third quarter of Monday's 90-79 defeat at Chicago.

"Nobody is to blame, but everybody is to blame," coach Larry Drew said. "We all have to put ourselves in one foxhole and figure it out together."

Josh Smith, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds Monday, may carry a heavier load if Johnson can't go. Smith is averaging 20.0 points and 7.6 boards in his last seven visits to MSG.

Lin, Knicks rout Hawks 99-82, head to Miami

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Feb 22 2012 11:58PM

NEW YORK (AP) Not much heat from the Hawks for Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks.

That's likely to change Thursday night when the show travels to Miami for Lin versus LeBron and some real Heat.

Lin had 17 points and nine assists, sitting out most of the fourth quarter in a rare easy game during his remarkable run, and the Knicks tuned up for their trip by beating Atlanta 99-82 on Wednesday.

Carmelo Anthony scored 15 points in his second game back from injury for the Knicks, who led the depleted Hawks by 25 points at halftime. New York bounced back from a loss to New Jersey on Monday and won for the ninth time in 11 games since Lin joined the rotation.

The Knicks visit Miami on Thursday in their final game before the All-Star break, and Lin's emergence has the Heat's attention.

"It's going to be a lot of, a lot of anticipation about this game," Anthony said. "We're going down there to win. Miami is playing great basketball right now. One of the hottest teams, if not the hottest team in the NBA.

"It'll be a great game."

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and teammates have been asked repeatedly in recent days about the ex-Harvard guard, and coach Mike D'Antoni was told the word out of Miami is the Heat will be waiting for the Knicks' back-to-back Sports Illustrated cover boy.

"At the airport?" he joked.

Not quite. But whatever they do will provide more resistance than the Hawks, who trailed by as many as 30.

Jeff Teague scored 18 points for the Hawks. They played without All-Star guard Joe Johnson, who left their loss at Chicago on Monday with a sore left knee and had to pull out of Sunday's game in Orlando, and have lost three straight and five of six.

"Coming into this game, being as depleted as we were, I still was hoping we could come out and just put together four solid quarters. We just didn't do that," Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

The Knicks shot 52 percent in the first half, scored 30 points in both periods, and led 60-35 at the break.

"We are professionals. They just came out and they attacked us," Teague said. "That's all I can really say."

The Knicks lost their focus briefly midway through the third before pulling away again to lead 78-56 heading into the fourth. Lin watched the first 6-plus minutes of the final period before D'Antoni curiously put him back in leading by 20 with 5:13 left. Lin still played only 33 minutes after he logged at least 36 in all but one of the previous 10 games.

He'll likely need to do more against the Heat, who have won seven in a row and have the NBA's best record at 26-7.

The Heat have been the NBA's biggest story since building their Big Three in 2010, but even they've been playing in Lin's shadow the last two weeks. That will change Thursday in a nationally televised game that James said could be "one of the most watched games we've had in a long time, especially with what Jeremy Lin is doing."

But Lin isn't getting caught up in the hype.

"I think for us, we want to make sure what we're thinking about is we want to build momentum going into the All-Star break and we want to make a push after the All-Star break. And I think this is a good opportunity to build momentum," he said.

"It's a big game, don't get me wrong. We're playing a great team, and it's going to be a good evaluation of where we're at. So from that end obviously we're excited and ready for the challenge. But besides that, we're just going try to stay consistent."

The game against Atlanta came on the one-year anniversary of the Knicks' acquisition of Anthony from Denver in a blockbuster trade that cost them four of their top six players. The results have been underwhelming - 14-14 last season and 17-17 this season, and D'Antoni acknowledged the high price the Knicks paid for the All-Star forward "depleted a lot of things."

However, he said they've built their depth back, and the potential was obvious in the first half, when all nine players who played scored.

New additions Baron Davis and J.R. Smith could be an explosive second-team backcourt, and teamed up on a pretty alley-oop that Smith dropped in with his back to the hoop. Steve Novak is the 3-point specialist needed to space the floor so Lin and Anthony have room to drive into the lane.

"The things are developing and we'll get our guys, everybody up to par, and if that happens then we should be fairly good," D'Antoni said.

Novak made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points. Landry Fields had 16, and Smith finished with 12. Davis had six assists in 14 minutes.

Notes: Drew was disappointed that Josh Smith was passed over in favor of Boston's Rajon Rondo when Commissioner David Stern chose the injury replacement for Johnson. Smith averages 16 points and 9.6 rebounds, is top 15 in the league in blocks, rebounds and steals, and was already considered perhaps the biggest snub when reserves were chosen. "I really thought that he would get the invite once word was that Joe wouldn't be able to play," Drew said. "I mean, you look at Josh's numbers, he has good numbers. His numbers are good enough to be where he should be an All-Star. Why he didn't make it, I don't know." ... Knicks assistant Mike Woodson was the Hawks' head coach from 2004-10. ... Lansdowne Road, an Irish pub in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York, announced it was changing its name to LINsdowne Road

Notebook: Knicks 99, Hawks 82

Posted Thursday February 23, 2012 12:09AM

By Adam Zagoria, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony won their first game together as starters since Linsanity began two weeks ago as the Knicks crushed the Atlanta Hawks, 99-82, at Madison Square Garden.

Lin tallied 17 points and nine assists and Anthony scored 15 points.

Steve Novak went 5-for-10 from deep and added 17 points off the bench. Landry Fields scored 16 and J.R. Smith added 12.

The Knicks won for the ninth time in 11 games since Linsanity began Feb. 4.

Jeff Teague scored 18 points for the Hawks, who closed out their five-game road trip by falling to 1-4.

QUOTABLE: "I thought [Anthony] played really well tonight and he's just going to continue to improve...[Thursday] night [against the Heat] we're going to need him to score for sure. They're a very good defensive team and we're going to need him to score more."
-- Lin

THE STAT: Since trading for Anthony exactly a year ago, the Knicks are now 31-31 in the regular season and 31-35 overall.

QUOTABLE II: "He's gotta be Carmelo Anthony. Attack, go. If you get the ball, go. Do your thing. You don't have to fit in. What's fitting in? What's that mean? I don't know what that means. Jeremy will orchestrate the ball....[Anthony] can't think in his mind, 'OK, I gotta give up this part.' No, he's gotta play and Amar'e's gotta play and Jeremy's gotta sort it out."
-- Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni

TURNING POINT: Trailing 16-14 in the first quarter, the Knicks closed the period on a 16-0 run to take a commanding 30-16 lead after one. They then outscored the Hawks 30-19 in the second period to take a 60-35 lead into the intermission.

WHO'S HOT: Novak, who played one game with Lin on the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-on Feb. 4, 2011, continues to benefit from playing with Lin. He shot 6-for-12 from the field. On Sunday, he scored 14 fourth-quarter points in the win over the Dallas Mavericks.

WHO'S NOT: The Hawks have lost five of six heading into the All-Star break and played without Joe Johnson (left knee).

QUOTABLE III: "We need to take that step. We need to get over. 500. we kind of dug a hole in the beginning of the season. Now it's time for us to make that next step and get over .500 and start to make that push."
-- Novak

NOTABLE: J.R. Smith said the criticisms of Anthony "hurt" his friend, but that he can handle it. "He doesn't let stuff like that get to his head," Smith said Wednesday when discussing criticisms of how Anthony fits into the Knicks with Lin. "I mean he knows he's a great player. He knows what he brings to the table. He just wants to go out there and win just as bad as the next person. I'm sure it hurts at some point but at the same time we're all professional basketball players. He's one hell of a player so I don't think it's that much of a factor to him."

NOTABLE II: Playing in his second game of the year, Baron Davis went 0-for-3 for one point with six assists and five turnovers.

QUOTABLE IV: "We want to build momentum going into the All-Star break and we want to make a push after the All-Star break. And this is a good opportunity to build momentum. It's a big game [against Miami], don't get me wrong. We're playing a great team and it's going to be a good evaluation of where we're at, so from that end obviously we're excited."
-- Lin

INSIDE THE ARENA: David Duchovny, aka Hank Moody on "Californication," was in the house.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Thursday @ Heat, Feb. 29 vs. Cavaliers, March 4 at Boston. For the Hawks, Thursday vs. Magic, Feb. 29 vs. Warriors, March 2 vs. Bucks.

• Hawks: Horford, Johnson
• Knicks: Harrellson, Shumpert, Walker

• Hawks: --
• Knicks: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #27 Dick Bavetta, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 19763
• Duration: 2:08