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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Knicks wanted to use their game
against the Atlanta Hawks as a tuneup for their five-game West
Coast road trip.
Latrell Sprewell made sure they accomplished their mission.
Sprewell scored 30 points, including 15 in the third quarter, to
lead the Knicks to a 95-83 victory over the Hawks on Friday night.
|  | | New York's Allan Houston, who scored 27 points, drives against Atlanta's Roshown McLeod. |
Allan Houston added 27 points for the Knicks, who remained one
game behind first-place Miami in the Atlantic Division. The Heat
beat Milwaukee 99-87.
Sprewell shot 12-of-23 from the field as New York outscored
Atlanta 26-17 in the third quarter to pull away.
"It was one of those quarters when everything seemed to be
going right," Sprewell said. "The guys were probably looking for
me a little more because I was on a roll."
New York, which lost its previous two games against Atlanta this
season, increased a three-point halftime lead to as much as 15 in
the third.
The Knicks, who start their road trip Sunday at Portland, also
play at Sacramento, Seattle, Vancouver and the Los Angeles Lakers.
"We wanted to treat this like the start of our road trip,"
said Houston, who shot 12-of-19 from the floor. "We wanted to set
the tone for how we wanted to play. It's going to be a challenge
and I'm looking forward to it."
Rookie Jason Terry had 17 points to lead Atlanta, which has lost
seven straight on the road and 13 of 16 overall.
"The Knicks have great 1-on-1 players," Atlanta coach Lenny
Wilkens said. "Houston got going at the beginning of the game, and
then Sprewell."
Wilkens went to a younger lineup, sitting Henderson and Dikembe
Mutombo for long stretches in the second half. Henderson played 26
minutes and scored six points, while Mutombo had just three points
in 24 minutes.
"Alan and Dikembe are handling the less minutes of playing time
quite well," Wilkens said. "Hopefully everyone else understands
that we are playing the younger players for the benefit of the
future."
The Knicks certainly benefited from the Hawks' younger lineup.
"We tried a lot harder on defense (in the second half),"
Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We guarded a lot better and
they played a lot of young guys. Their objective right now is
obviously to get a look at and evaluate their younger players. We
were playing veterans against young guys, so that gave us the
decided edge."
Henderson's jumper pulled Atlanta to 55-53 with 9:50 left in the
third, but New York went on a 16-5 run.
After Terry scored on consecutive Hawks possessions to make it
73-62 with 2:24 left in the third, Sprewell made a driving layup
off a pass from Houston and a 3-pointer to sandwich a layup by
Roshown McLeod. Terry's layup closed the period with the Knicks in
front 78-66.
The Hawks got within 88-80 with 3:47 left in the fourth, but the
Knicks went on a 7-2 run to end the game.
"I think we're still learning," Houston said. "I think it
goes back to what we do when we win, and that's defense and
rebounding."
The Knicks outscored the Hawks 12-6 in the final 4{ minutes of
the first half to take a 52-49 lead into the break. Houston scored
14 first-half points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Jimmy Jackson had
10 of his 12 points in the first half.
Game notes
The Knicks are 31-17 since Patrick Ewing returned to the
lineup. Ewing had eight points and six rebounds. ... Marcus Camby
had a game-high 12 rebounds for the Knicks. ... New York has won 19
of its last 23 at home, and eight of its last 10. ... The Knicks
are 6-2 when Sprewell scores 30 or more points. ... New York is
36-4 when they lead or are tied going into the fourth quarter. ...
Atlanta is 1-4 since waiving Isaiah Rider on March 17. ... The
Hawks are 7-27 on the road. ... Atlanta's Chris Crawford sprained
his left ankle midway through the fourth quarter, and did not
return.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 117
Boston 115
Charlotte 102
Toronto 84
Minnesota 116
New Jersey 115
New York 95
Atlanta 83
Orlando 112
Houston 96
Miami 99
Milwaukee 87
Chicago 70
Denver 68
Utah 98
Seattle 95
Portland 96
Golden State 83
LA Lakers 109
Phoenix 101
Sacramento 113
Detroit 103
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