The Atlanta Hawks had their six-game unbeaten run snapped on Friday night with a 100-96 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The Hawks had no answer for Cody Zeller who scored a career-high 23 points. It was a disappointing defeat for Atlanta who lost for just the third time this season. The Hawks will look to return to winning ways this coming Sunday when they face the New York Knicks. For Atlanta to pull off the all-important victory, it needs to execute much better down the stretch. The Hawks shot just 3-of-17 from the field in the fourth quarter of their loss to the Hornets.
Contributing to that late-game collapse was the ejection of big man Dwight Howard. With the Hawks leading by three at the 5:38 mark of the final quarter, Howard elbowed the head of Zeller and was assessed a flagrant-2 foul. Howard was having a solid game at that point, recording 10 points and 18 boards. We still don’t know at this point if he is eligible for Sunday’s game against the Knicks. If he is indeed suspended for this weekend’s clash, the onus is on Mike Muscala to hold the fort for the Atlanta frontline.
He’s having a career year for the Hawks, averaging 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Muscala leads the league in field goal percentage this season with a stunning 63.2 percent shooting clip. He will fancy his chances of extending that excellent form against a Knicks defense that’s allowing 43.8 points per game in the paint this season, 16th in the NBA.
The Hawks are 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS on the road this season. They are pegged at +4,000to win the 2017 NBA Championship.
Just like the Hawks, the Knicks also saw their winning run come to an abrupt end on Thursday night. John Wall wreaked havoc against the Knicks’ defense, scoring 23 points and dishing out 11 dimes to lead Washington to a 119-112 win. That snapped the Knicks’ two-game unbeaten run as they dropped to 5-7 in the team standings.
The good news for the Knicks is that they will head back to the Big Apple for this crunch clash against the Hawks. New York has fared much better at home this season, going 4-2 at Madison Square Garden. Compare that to their record on the road where the Knicks are only 1-5. Expected to lead the Knicks’ cause this coming Sunday is Carmelo Anthony. He leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 22.3 points per game. Anthony averaged 19.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in four meetings with the Hawks the last season.
The Knicks are 6-3 SU and 5-4 ATS in their last nine home games against the Hawks. New York is pegged at +4,000to win the 2017 NBA Championship.
