Tonight's Matchup: New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks
Where: Philips Arena
TV: MSG Network (7:30 pm)
Knicks Report (16-63)
The Knicks' penultimate game of the season comes tonight against the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Before heading home to close out the year against Detroit on Fan Appreciation Night, New York will look to build on Saturday's gritty win in Orlando, in which Cole Aldrich poured in a career-high 19 points to go with 14 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. buried a 25-foot 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
Aldrich was unstoppable early, and Derek Fisher's squad held off the Magic comeback thanks to contributions from Jason Smith (13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, with 7 rebounds and 6 assists) and Hardaway down the stretch.
Hawks Report (60-20)
Atlanta distanced itself from the rest of the Eastern Conference before the All-Star break and has been on cruise control since clinching the top seed weeks ago. At this point, Mike Budenholzer is resting his key players to ensure that they'll be ready for a long postseason run.
Despite the lineup shuffling, the Hawks have won four of five games; like San Antonio, where Budenholzer won four NBA championships as an assistant coach under Greg Popovich, Atlanta can plug in different pieces and its style of play remains consistent. The Hawks move the ball and stretch the floor as well as any team in the league -- entering tonight, they're second in both assists and 3-point percentage.
Game Notes
Fisher suggested he'll stick with the same starting lineup tonight in Atlanta. Andrea Bargnani (illness) did not travel with the team.