NBA Picks: New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Atlanta Hawks are set to host the New York Knicks Friday night at Philips Arena. This is the second of four games these two teams will play this season. Atlanta won 99-90 at New York back on Nov. 27.
The Knicks come in off a huge win over the Miami Heat last night. New York overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Heat 93-88. One of their best defensive performances of the season.
The Hawks would like to forget their last game. Atlanta went into the fourth quarter leading by 11-points, but were outscored 34-15 in the final period and lost the game 98-90 at Milwaukee.
Taking a look at the NBA odds for tonight’s action, oddsmakers have the Hawks favored by 6.5-points over the Knicks with the total set at 205.5.
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The key for the Knicks will be how much energy they have left in the tank after giving it their all last night against the Heat. New York is 6-4 this season in the second game of a back-to-back, but are just 12-12 on the road this season.
Amare Stoudemire led the way with 24 points against Miami, while Danilo Gallinari had 20 points and Landry Fields added 19 and 13 rebounds. Shawne Williams came off the bench to score 11, but the Knicks as a team had just 17 points from their reserves.
New York shot just 36.1% from the field last night, giving you an idea of just how good they played defensively to still win the game. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 58 points, but the rest of the Heat’s roster had just 30 points.
Atlanta brings a much more balanced scoring attack against the Knicks, as they have a number of different players who can beat you. In the Hawks last game against the Bucks, Al Horford and Marvin Williams returned to the lineup. Horford had 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Atlanta got just seven points from Williams.
Jamal Crawford led Atlanta with 20 points off the bench, but got just 15 from Joe Johnson and 14 from Josh Smith. Both Johnson and Smith will have to play better for Atlanta to avoid losing two straight at home.
The Hawks have been pretty strong defensively this season, and are giving up just 93.5 points over their last 11 games at home. New York is averaging just 93 points over their last three road games, and if the Hawks come out strong defensively they should win this game.
As good as the Knicks looked last night against the Heat, I think they are going to have a tough time getting things going tonight at Atlanta. This is a prime letdown game for New York, and I will lay the 6.5-points on the Hawks.
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