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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- All it took for the New York Knicks to shake off
the embarrassment of their opening-night loss was a visit from the
vertically challenged and not-so-talented Atlanta Hawks.
|  | | Allan Houston scored 15 in the Knicks' rout of the Hawks Thursday night. |
Glen Rice scored 12 of his 21 points during a fourth-quarter
onslaught as the Knicks shook off their 29-point loss of two nights
earlier and crushed the Hawks 94-69 Thursday night.
"Things happen like that sometimes," Rice said. "The most
important thing is we were able to bounce back from such an ugly
game."
Rice had a pair of 3-pointers, a 20-footer and a driving layup
among his fourth-quarter points as New York scored 17 of the first
23 points of the period to turn the game into a rout.
It didn't hurt that the Knicks were facing an opponent without
much size. Dikembe Mutombo (malaria) and Lorenzen Wright (knee
sprain) sat out for Atlanta, leaving the Hawks with a small front
line of Roshown McLeod, Hanno Mottola and Alan Henderson.
That little lineup was a welcome sight for the Knicks, whose
height disadvantage in the post-Patrick Ewing era is one of the
team's main concerns this season. The Knicks grabbed only two
offensive rebounds to Atlanta's 14.
"Two -- that's not good," Larry Johnson said. "Hopefully we're
saving them for tomorrow night (at Washington)."
Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby bounced back from poor
performances in the season-opener. Sprewell, who shot 1-for-9
Tuesday, had 15 points and four assists while Camby, who was held
to five points and four rebounds against Philadelphia, had 12
points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
"I took the brunt of the 30-point loss on my shoulders, but
that's the way it is around here," Camby said.
Allan Houston also scored 15 and Charlie Ward shot 4-for-4 to
finish with 10 points. The Knicks shot 50 percent from the field,
54 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the line.
Henderson had 18 and Jim Jackson 16 for the Hawks, who have been
defeated decisively in their first two games.
"We didn't give enough credit to New York. They're tough,"
Hawks coach Lon Kruger said.
The Knicks began pulling away late in the first quarter and held
an 11-point lead entering the fourth. It soon turned into a runaway
as Chris Childs hit a jumper, Rice made a 3-pointer and Johnson
scored on consecutive shots from the lane to make it 80-62.
Rice followed with a 20-footer to give New York its first
20-point lead.
"I haven't shown you guys nothing yet," Rice said. "Hopefully
it'll be contagious and everybody will fill it up like I did
tonight. I'm anxious to see what it's like when everybody is
hitting. There's going to be some fireworks out there."
Game
notes
Wright is expected to return to action during the Hawks'
trip to the West next week. Mutombo's return to full speed should
take longer. His conditioning has been hurt by his inability to
run. ... Atlanta's Larry Robinson, coming off a 21-point outing
against Charlotte, shot 0-for-6 from 3-point range and scored two
points. Jason Terry shot 1-for-7 for three points, while Jackson
was 5-for-17 from the field. ... The Knicks drew their 349th
consecutive sellout crowd. There were no chants.
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NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 94
Atlanta 69
Dallas 94
Indiana 88
San Antonio 103
Minnesota 91
Houston 115
Milwaukee 93
Denver 101
Golden State 97
Phoenix 108
Portland 82
Vancouver 99
LA Clippers 91
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