Hawks falter late in loss to Knicks (updated)

The Knicks switching defense frustrated the Hawks much of the night and forced them into 15 turnovers. New York also connected on their 3-point attempts making 12 of 34 attempts, including eight in the first half when it built a 17-point lead.

“They were the more aggressive team defensively for a lot of the night,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Our ball movement wasn’t what it has been and what we needed it to be. I think a lot of credit goes to New York and their effort defensively. I think when you look at the turnovers, 15 to 6, and points off the turnovers that explains the loss tonight.”

Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 25 points. Al Horford added 23 points.

The Knicks (3-4) won for the second time in six games. They also got 20 points from Andrea Bargnani, including two fourth-quarter 3-pointers and one of them was off the backboard.

It took a while, but Kyle Korver extended his 3-point streak to 81 straight games with a long-range shot in the fourth quarter. He is now eight away from the NBA record of 89 set by Dana Barros.

Korver added a layup and another 3-pointer on the next two Hawks possessions as they took a 78-72 lead with just over eight minutes remaining.

Then Anthony erased the lead by himself. He scored six straight points in just over a minute to erase the deficit.

“We had slippage, the same things that have been happening to us a lot early this year,” Horford said. “We are having leads late in the fourth and they are disappearing. It’s unacceptable. We cost ourselves two or three games just from doing that. We need to be better at it.”

Raymond Felton scored and Bargnani hit a 3-pointer and the Knicks held an 83-78 lead with 5:49 remaining. They would put the game away from there. After the Hawks closed to within three with a Horford basket, Korver committed a turnover on an inbound pass and Horford and Teague each missed 1 of 2 free throws. It punctuated the Hawks’ poor execution late in the game.

“I felt like we should have got this one,” Teague said. “I think everybody is a little upset at the outcome.”

The Hawks turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a three-point advantage with a high-paced third quarter. They outscored the Knicks 23-10 in the 12 minute period, which included a 21-4 run. The Knicks shot a meager 20 percent in the third, making just 5 of 25 shots. Horford had 10 of the Hawks’ points, including a run of eight straight.

The Knicks led by as many as 17 points in the first half. They held a 55-45 advantage at halftime.

“We just came out and fought,” Teague said. “Elton Brand said it at halftime. It’s our quarter. Come out and play. We came out and played. We just laid an egg in the fourth.”

The Knicks did a great deal of their early damage from beyond the 3-point line. They hit 8 of 19 from long range in the first half. The Hawks, by stark comparison, made just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc. Five of the Knicks’ 3-pointers came in the first quarter.

Anthony has been a pain in the Hawks’ collective side as a Knick. He entered the game with a total of 157 points in the past four games, an average of 39.3 points per game. He scored 40 or more in his two games against the Hawks last season.

Anthony was held to the 25 points on 9 of 25 shooting. Much of the burden defensive burden fell on Paul Millsap but he was out of the game when Anthony scored the six points.

“It’s hard to stop a player like that from scoring,” Millsap said. “For the most part we made it tough on him. He went 9 for 25. It’s not a great night but he hit some tough shots down the stretch and led this team.”

The Hawks host the 76ers Friday before they travel to New York for a rematch with the Knicks Saturday.