Atlanta 114, New York 109 | Mar. 30, 2008 | Philips Arena

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• The Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks for the third consecutive time this season with a 114-109 win at Philips Arena.
• It was Atlanta's third straight win and moved the Hawks to 33-40 on the year and 2 1/2 games in front of the New Jersey Nets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference race.
• Marvin Williams led the way with 27 points and also grabbed 11 boards. Joe Johnson had 25 points and a season-high 13 assists. Al Horford pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with 18 points.
• Horford had his 21st double-double on the season, while Johnson had his eighth and Williams had his seventh.
• After a one-point lead at the half, Atlanta increased that margin by three heading into the fourth quarter (84-80 Hawks) despite 19 from the Knicks' Jamal Crawford.
• The Hawks are back in action Monday night in Memphis when Atlanta takes on the Grizzlies (8 pm, 790 AM, FSN).

Photo Of The Night

Al Horford goes up for a basket against his former Florida Gator teammate David Lee. The ROY candidate had his 21st double-double of the season

What You Really Need To Know
The Hawks continue to pick up critical home wins at Philips, this time at the expense of the New York Knicks. New York has been gracious to Atlanta this season and today was no different, as the Hawks moved 2.5 games ahead of New Jersey in the race for the 8th spot. Atlanta got the win (their third over the Knicks this season in three games) by being aggressive on the boards and distributing the wealth - five Hawks players scored 16 or more points in the game. A big win, and a good way to start a back-to-back with Memphis up next tomorrow night.


Fantasy MVP: Joe Johnson
Joe struggled a bit from the field tonight, so he took it upon himself to get his teammates involved to help pick up the slack. Repeatedly finding his teammates after a Knicks double-team, JJ finished the game with 25 points and a season-high 13 assists, and tacked on 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals for good measure.


Momentum Changer
The Knicks were pesky tonight, answering every Hawks charge with one of their own through much of the first three quarters. But Atlanta went on a 12-2 run over the end of the third/beginning of the fourth to push the lead to 12 at 82-70 and New York was never really able to make it a game again after that.

What Went Right

• I thought this was Marvin Williams best game since his 33-point performance at Seattle. He hustled, grabbed rebounds (offensive and defensive), and generally play a well-rounded game to complement his typically solid mid-range shooting.
• Al Horford is another Hawk who loves playing the Knicks, as he recorded his 21st double-double of the season (18 points, 13 rebounds) to lead all rookies. Earlier this season he set his career-high with 20 points in another win over New York.
• Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby both played the role of distributor to perfection, repeatedly finding open teammates for easy baskets. For the night the Hawks finished with 32 assists on 44 made baskets, with Joe leading the way with 13 and Bibby chipping in with 9.
• The Hawks continue to take care of business down the stretch. With New Jersey losing on Saturday, the Hawks now own a 2.5 game lead in the standings with only 9 games remaining.

• Jamal Crawford had himself a day against Atlanta, scoring 39 points to lead all scorers. It may not have mattered in the outcome, but when he got things going in the third quarter they didn't do enough to try to get him out of his rhythm. It's something they will need to work on should they end up playing a team with, say, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, for example.
• I still think the Hawks played this game a little too much like they already knew the outcome. Maybe you can get away with that against a team like New York, but teams that play hard every night (like Memphis tomorrow night, for example) may make you pay for it.
  

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