Knicks knock off Hawks

ATLANTA -- Rookie Langston Galloway scored a career-high 26 points, hitting all six of his 3-point attempts, and the New York Knicks stunned the playoff-boundAtlanta Hawks 112-108 Monday night.

The Knicks led by 17 in the first half and held off several furious comebacks by the Hawks. Atlanta came into its final home game of the regular season having long ago clinched the top seed in the East and leading New York by 44 games in the standings.

Atlanta tied the game at 87 on Shelvin Mack's 3-pointer with 9:49 remaining. But the Knicks, the NBA's lowest-scoring team, responded as they have so few times during their miserable season - with three straight 3-pointers, two by Galloway, to reclaim control.

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points for the Knicks, and Jason Smith had 20.

Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 19 apiece, but Teague missed on a potential tying basket with 10 seconds remaining.

The final minutes were played with playoff-like intensity, the Hawks seeming almost embarrassed by their performance and scrambling furiously to come back.

They had a chance after Kyle Korver hit his fourth 3-pointer off an offensive rebound with 51.8 seconds left, cutting New York's lead to 109-106.

With the shot clock running down, Lance Thomas' 3-pointer from the corner missed badly. But Al Horford fumbled the rebound out of bounds, and New York got to keep the ball when the replay showed the ball barely touched the rim, negating a possible shot-clock violation.

But the Hawks came up with a steal, and Mike Muscala dunked off a fast break to cut it to a single point.

Tim Hardaway was fouled and made one of two free throws, setting up the Hawks for a final shot with 13.3 seconds remaining. Teague got the look he wanted, a floater in the lane, but the ball bounced out. Smith knocked down a pair of free throws to seal the victory.

Coach Mike Budenholzer became so frustrated with his team that he called a timeout just 14 seconds into the second half, apparently upset at the play they were running on the opening possession. He gathered his team at midcourt and barked some instructions before stomping back to the bench.

The Hawks finally seemed to gain control of the game late in the third quarter, forcing a couple of turnovers and getting more pressure on the New York shooters. Mike Scott stole the ball, took off on a fast break and lobbed to Kent Bazemore, who banked it in. Korver also hit his first 3-pointer after missing his first three attempts from long range.

The Knicks led 83-78 going to the final period.

TIP-INS

Knicks: Galloway's previous career highs for a game were 22 points and three 3-pointers ... The Knicks shot 55.8 percent from the field and made 13 of 25 from 3-point range.

Hawks: G Dennis Schroder was rested, while C Pero Antic sat out the game with an illness. ... Muscala again started in place of Paul Millsap, who missed his fifth straight game with a shoulder injury. Budenholzer said before the game that he doesn't think it's necessary for Millsap to play again before the playoffs. ... DeMarre Carroll received the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy before the game for his work in the community. The award honors the former Hawks center, who died unexpectedly in 2005 from a heart defect at age 28. Collier's widow, daughter and parents were on hand to present Carroll with the award.

UP NEXT

Knicks: Close the regular season by hosting Detroit on Wednesday.

Hawks: Travel to Chicago on Wednesday in their final game before the playoffs.