So Melo! Knicks hold off Hawks

So Melo! Knicks hold off Hawks

ERIK S. LESSER/EPA

Carmelo Anthony is fired up as the NY Knicks beat the Hawks in Atlanta and maintain hold on 7th-seed in the East.

KNICKS 113, HAWKS 112

ATLANTA Its looking more and more like the Knicks will be taking their talents to South Beach for the playoffs.

When they survived several last-ditch shot attempts by the Hawks and came away with a 113-112 victory on Sunday at Phillips Arena, the Knicks took what amounts to a game and a half lead over the idle Sixers for the seventh spot in the East heading into the final week of the regular season. The Knicks own the tiebreaker over Philly, which plays Monday in Newark in the Nets final game in New Jersey.

We just got to keep playing, Amare Stoudemire said after a strong performance in his second game after returning from his back injury. We definitely want to take this momentum into the postseason. So if we keep winning, well hang onto the seventh spot.

The Heat looks like it will finish with the No. 2 seed, as the Bulls magic number for clinching the East for the second straight season is down to one.

The Knicks hung on in this game as Tyson Chandler got the day off for rest and watched Stoudemire perform admirably as the last line of defense on the games final play. With the Knicks holding a one-point lead with 3.4 seconds lef t, Stoudemire stayed step for step with Marvin Williams on his drive and dunk attempt.

With Stoudemire getting a piece of the ball, Williams missed just after the final buzzer. Even though it wouldnt have counted had Williams converted the shot, Stoudemire provided the kind of defense on the play that Mike Woodson challenged him to play when he returned Friday night in Cleveland from his 28-day absence due to a bulging disc.

Before the Knicks lost to the Cavs, Woodson said of Stoudemire, How hes alert defensively thats my big concern. Im looking on the defensive end to make sure hes doing the right rotations and blocking out and guarding his man in a one-on-one position. Thats more important to me.

Stoudemires final effort on Williams was exactly what Woodson wants from a player whose defense has often been lacking.
I thought Amare played it well at the rim, Woodson said.

In having his minutes increased from 27 on Fri day to 34 against the Hawks, Stoudemire looked a lot more lively at both ends than he did against the Cavs, producing 22 points and 12 rebounds as Chandlers one-game replacement at center.

Twice Stoudemire went down hard to the court, but bounced up both times and afterward reported that he did not experience any new troubles with his back.

Stoudemire is not quite back all the way, though.

My free throws are rusty, he said after missing four of eight shots from the line. I will work on that in practice.

Otherwise, Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony looked fine playing off each other at the offensive end, with Anthony scoring 39 points and hitting the game-winning shot in the final 1:40.

The Hawks, who are trying to nail down home-court advantage for a potential first-round series against the Celtics, were led by Williams 29 points.

Anthony didnt have an efficient shooting game, missing 18 of his 32 sho ts. But he bounced back from his 12-point effort in Cleveland and was encouraged by how he blended with Stoudemire.

I think people are looking at that situation a little too closely, he said. I don't think well ever have a problem out on the basketball court. Good things happened out there.