Knicks Lose to the Hawks, Nets Fall Against the Warriors

Entering the game on an eight-game losing streak, the Atlanta Hawks (26-29) were finally able to end it with a 107-98 win over the New York Knicks (21-35) on Saturday.

Once again playing with an injured roster, including Paul Millsap sitting on the bench with a bum knee, Mike Scott stepped up to score 30 points–a career high–while Jeff Teague contributed 28 points.

New York didn’t go down without a fight but again gave up a double-digit lead in the third quarter for a second consecutive game. Once the Hawks took a 74-73 advantage in the fourth quarter, they held onto it for the win.

Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony had 35 points while Tyson Chandler added 23 rebounds (a season high for him) for the Knicks, but again it was too little as the team has now lost two consecutive games as well as its last seven of nine. The Knicks are now 5½ games behind the Hawks, clinging onto hopes for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Anthony said of the game via the Associated Press, “It’s same things, different days. It’s starting to get tough to handle. It’s definitely tested me. The frustration has definitely sunk in.”

While no effect on the game, prior to it, the Knicks said they were preparing to buy out Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih contracts. Neither player traveled to Atlanta for the game. World Peace confirmed on Saturday via Twtter that the buyout was coming. With their exit, the team should have some extra space on its roster to hopefully improve the talent pool.

During the recent trade deadline, the Knicks didn’t make any moves including not firing of coach Mike Woodson.

Looking ahead, the Knicks will play the Dallas Mavericks (34-23) on Monday. New York sits at 100/1 to win the 2014 NBA Championship.

As for that other New York team, the Brooklyn Nets (25-28), it also suffered a loss on Saturday. This came against the Golden State Warriors (34-22) with a 93-86 score.

Similar to the Hawks, Golden State has been battling the injury bug and played without some key players including Andrew Bogut (shoulder) and David Lee (flu), but veteran Jermaine Neal stepped up and scored 23 points with 13 rebounds–both season highs. The rookie Draymond Green, who pinch hit for Lee, contributed a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds while Stephen Curry added 17 points.

Golden State played with an intensity that the Nets did not match. The team struggled with 3-pointers (2 for 21 attempts) and turnovers (16). They tried hard to stay in the game, tying it at 84 with 2:22 remaining, but they couldn’t get it done.

For the night, Deron Williams scored 20 points with six assists while Joe Johnson added 15 points.

Paul Pierce, who scored 11 points said of the game, said via CBS Sports, “I thought we had a lot of good shots, they just didn’t fall. Sometimes you live by the 3, you die by the 3. We should attack more, especially with them limited in their big men.”

The Nets sit in the eighth spot for the Eastern Conference and will look to get a win against the Los Angeles Lakers (19-36) on Sunday. Brooklyn will enter with an 0-11 record against the Lakers when Kobe Bryant is playing but for this game, the player will be absent.

Instead, they will be reunited with MarShon Brooks, who just landed with the Lakers this week. He previously played for the Nets in the last two seasons.

Williams missed the team’s first game against the Lakers, a Nov. 27 99-94 loss, but he doesn’t play well against them when on the Lakers’ home court as he’s an 0-18 starter (include eight for playoff games).

Will he make it 0-19? Vegas says no as it gives the Nets the win (-2.5, 205 o/u).