Atlanta goes into this game red-hot. The Hawks have won eight of their last nine games (7-2 ATS), including their last four on the road. Paul Millsap’s been leading the charge throughout this remarkable run, averaging 19.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists since the New Year.
The first two meetings with the Knicks this season have been pretty tight, though. The Hawks lost in the opener, but evened things up in the second one at Philips Arena. They head back again to Madison Square Garden, hoping to come away with the W this time around. And that might just be the case looking at how the Knickerbockers are struggling and shorthanded at the moment. They’ve lost 10 of their last 12 games overall, while going 5-7 against the spread in that stretch.
New York was manhandled by the Raptors on Sunday, 116-101. From that final score alone, you could say the Knicks’ defense was once again invisible. It also allowed Toronto to shoot nearly 50 percent from the field.
The offense struggled, too. Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose both nailed half of their shot attempts, finishing with 34 points combined. But as a team, the Knicks couldn’t find consistency with their stroke, especially in the third quarter where they just racked up eight points while allowing Toronto to collect 27 points. Rubbing more salt to the wound is New York’s 16 turnovers.
The Knicks, though, played well at home in the win over Chicago last Thursday night. Anthony, Rose and Joakim Noah scored in double digits each with Melo’s 23 points leading the way. Noah, meanwhile, went 6-for-10 from the field and grabbed 15 rebounds. But can they find enough success against an Atlanta defense that’s giving up only 94.0 points in its previous three games?
Plus, Kristaps Porzingis remains questionable to play this game due to a sore Achilles.
