Struggling Hawks return home to play Knicks

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlanta Hawks will try to avoid losing for a ninth straight time when they return home to take on the New York Knicks Saturday at Philips Arena.

The Hawks lost their eighth game in a row with Friday's 115-107 setback at Detroit, as Paul Millsap posted a game-high 23 points. Shelvin Mack and Mike Scott scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, for Atlanta, which was outscored by a 34-20 margin in the third quarter.

Atlanta received 15 points from reserve Lou Williams and made only 45.5 percent from the field.

"We got outscored in the third quarter, 34-20. We will have to go back and look at the film, but you can't give up 34 points in the quarter," said Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer. "You have to give Detroit a lot of credit. Different guys stepped and made plays."

Detroit also had three players with 20-plus points.

Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak of games with a 3-pointer to 123 consecutive games and finished with 11 points. Hawks guard Jeff Teague missed the game with an ankle injury and is day-to-day. The team could use Teague's 15.5 ppg average soon.

The Hawks are winless in their last three home games and have a 16-10 record at Philips Arena this season. They will host Chicago on Tuesday and fell to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Atlanta opened the 2005-06 campaign with nine straight defeats.

New York will put the finishing touches on its four-game southern road trip and sustained a 129-121 double overtime loss to Orlando Friday night.

The Knicks squandered a lead midway through the fourth quarter and both teams scored seven points in the first overtime. The Magic put the game away with a 16-8 advantage in the second OT, sending New York to its seventh loss in nine tries and a 1-2 mark on the sojourn.

"We couldn't put a string of defensive stops together in overtime and we lost the game," Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said.

Anthony lit it up again with 44 points on 16-of-28 shooting and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Anthony had 42 points in a win at New Orleans on Wednesday and is averaging 32.9 points in his last 13 games. He is second in the NBA with 27.8 ppg this season.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Raymond Felton scored 15 points apiece and Tyson Chandler added 14 and 11 boards. Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Knicks with 10 points apiece.

New York had won eight straight and nine of 10 meetings with Orlando.

The Knicks are 9-16 on the road this season and have a trio of tough games on the horizon against Dallas, Miami and Golden State. Knicks guard Iman Shumpert missed Friday's game with a sprained left MCL and is expected to be sidelined for about two weeks.

The Knicks are 2-1 against Atlanta this season and captured a 95-91 victory at Philips Arena back on Nov. 13. New York has won six of seven, nine of 11 and 12 of the last 16 matchups with the Hawks, losers of three straight as the host in this series.