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ATLANTA -- With Paul Millsap nursing a sore knee and Al Horford likely out for the season, Mike Scott filled a big void to help the Atlanta Hawks snap an eight-game skid. Jerry Rice . Scott scored a career-high 30 points, Jeff Teague added 28 and the Hawks rallied to beat the New York Knicks 107-98 on Saturday night. "We were down Paul, down so many bodies," Scott said. "It was great for everyone to come out and play and finally get a win." Carmelo Anthony finished with 35 points and Tyson Chandler had a season-high 23 rebounds for the Knicks, who blew a double-digit, third-quarter lead for the second straight night. New York has lost two straight and seven of nine to fall 5 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Atlanta began the game without Millsap, who sustained a right knee contusion late in Fridays loss at Detroit, but the Hawks rallied from a 17-point deficit to take a 74-73 lead on Lou Williams 3-pointer early in the fourth. The Hawks, who finished 16 for 31 beyond the arc, never trailed again. "It feels so good," Teague said. "You work hard every day. We come in here and compete. We just couldnt get over the jump the last couple of games. To get one under our belt made us feel really good." New York coach Mike Woodson said before the game that the Knicks were preparing to buy out the contracts of veterans Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih. Neither made the trip to Atlanta, but Anthony indicated the teams problems are bigger than one or two players. "Its same things, different days," Anthony said. "Its starting to get tough to handle. Its definitely tested me. The frustration has definitely sunk in." Scott scored nine straight points to put the Hawks up 33-23 in the second, but New York went on a 33-6 run to take a 56-39 lead on Raymond Feltons long jumper early in the third. Anthony grabbed a rebound midway through the third, dribbled up the court and hit a 3 from the right wing to make it 63-48. He and Hawks guard DeMarre Carroll were called for a double technical foul on Atlantas ensuing possession and Woodson, who was defending Anthony to official Ed Malloy, was called for a technical, too. "I think the biggest thing is a lot of people get caught up in me and Carmelo trash talking, but I think it was bigger than Carmelo tonight," said Carroll, who finished with a season-high 24 points. "Coach (Mike Budenholzer) told me that youve got to learn how to get your guys motivated. If Ive got to talk to our guys to get Jeff Teague scoring (eight) in a row and Mike knocking down 3s and Lou, thats why Ive got to do." The Knicks, who lost in double-overtime Friday at Orlando, fell into another defensive lapse on the perimeter from the closing seconds of the third through the first two-plus minutes of the fourth. Williams began the game 0 for 7 from the field, but hit three straight 3s, and Hawks also got one trey from Scott and Teague to take an 80-75 lead. "We have leads, we have opportunities to win the ball game and down the stretch we get in close games," Chandler said. "Whenever you give up 39 points in the fourth quarter, its going to be difficult for you to win." Scotts previous career high was 23 points at New York last April 17. Elton Brand, the Hawks 15th-year centre, played a team-high 43 minutes, finishing with one point and six rebounds. Another starter, guard Shelvin Mack, finished with just three points after going 1 for 9 from the field. Atlanta outscored the Knicks by 17 points at the free throw line. It seems as nothing is going right for New York. "Im going to keep coaching and Im going to keep pushing," Woodson said. "If it means being naggy or whatever, thats my job. But Ive got to get them over the hump, man. Ive got to get them over this funk that were in." NOTES: Former Atlanta and New York coach Lenny Wilkens, 76, was honoured at halftime by the Hawks 20 years after he led the team to its most recent division title in 1993-94. Wilkens, who last coached in 2004-05, was joined on the court by longtime friend and former teammate Paul Silas, former Hawks centre Dikembe Mutombo and Atlanta general manager Danny Ferry, who played for Wilkens in Cleveland. .... Kyle Korver hit first 3-point attempt, extending his NBA record to 124 straight games with a trey. ... With Millsap injured, the Hawks requested waivers on G Jared Cunningham and signed C Dexter Pittman to a 10-day contract. Pittman did not play. Colin Kaepernick . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. Michael Crabtree Jersey . Not exactly bursting with sentimental feelings, Matthew Lombardi makes an odd return to the state of Tennessee on Thursday night.The Toronto Argonauts have a lot to look forward to in 2014. Long gone are the glory moments of the 100th Grey Cup, back to reality, which is an almost total rebuilding effort on defence in effort to get back to the 102nd Grey Cup come November 30th. First and foremost, this year has such special optimism because they get their quarterback back. With Anthony Calvillo out of the picture, Ricky Ray is the best in the league. He did have issues staying healthy last year but in the time he played he was remarkable. Completing 77 per cent of your passes and finishing with a 21:2 touchdown to interception ratio is an accomplishment that other quarterbacks envy and respect. His quarterback rating was 126.4. If Ray can stay healthy for the year, the Argonauts will always be in position to win it all. Health really is the only issue as age, now creeping into the mid 30s, is still not a significant detriment. Other positions? Absolutely. If you are a running back or defensive back, when you lose that athletic burst or reactive ability, you lose a lot. But quarterbacks, more than any other position, are cerebral more than physical and as long as the first dominates the second, you can continue to play at a very high level. The next aspect of success could be a re-designed defence. Losing Chris Jones, now the head coach with the Edmonton Eskimos, was intense as Jones transferred his intensity successfully to the players he directed. But when a coaching void is opened it is usually filled quickly, and the combination of Tim Burke and Casey Creehan will develop their own style based on experience, not experiment. Toronto will be a much more "upfield" team, depending on a front four to pressure and a back eight to react. As a coordinator, Burke has always been successful, and as a linebacker coach so has Creehan. Then after Mike OShea left to become the head coach in Winnipeg, the void was filled by Jim Daley, who knows this league better than any. Losing two assistants to head coaching jobs says a lot about how good the defensive staff was, but it could be even better potentially with the positions filled in the present. Running back will be a battle. With Chad Kackert retired, it appears to be a three-man competition between Steve Slaton, Curtis Steel, and Anthony Coombs. Can Cooombs be an 18 game starter? Very unlikely, but possible. Carlos Hyde Jersey. Nothing would be better than to see the University of Manitoba star be the next Jon Cornish. If he does, then everything falls into place on offence and with ratio flexibility. Overall, from last year there are major priorities for improvement. Toronto ended the season with the best red zone offence and the best red zone defence. 69 per cent of the time the Argos produced touchdowns over field goals on offence. And only 46 per cent of the time Toronto allowed touchdowns, forcing opponents into field goals. Inside the 20, the Argos were the best in CFL football. Outside the 20s: a priority to improve. On average, teams produced 389 yards of offence, 289 of which was through the air. Those totals were both eighth in the league. Toronto finished dead last in rushing yards as well, with only 85 produced per game. And that eighth-place reality is for the second year in a row. But you can rationalize that with a +18 takeaway/giveaway number and arguing what happens between the 20s is not as significant as what happens from the 20 in. But all that yardage against takes time away from Ray and the offence; that has to be improved. So looking into the future one year at a time, Toronto will have a good team. Looking into the future more than one year, Toronto needs a new home for the team. BMO Field is an excellent choice but the financing is still floating in space. Because the stadium was built with tax payer money, there is no reason not to include all. If it was privately funded, than those who paid for it can use it as they see fit. But it was paid by the public so should be open to public use, and that includes the Toronto Argonauts. To me, expansion will create more revenue for all and the location and design can be adapted for all. Where there is a will, there is a way. Both Hamilton and Montreal will be better and are better right now than at this time last year. Ottawa is a complete unknown but is not to be looked at as a guarantee win day. Toronto is somewhere in the middle, catching up perhaps to Hamilton and Montreal but way ahead of Ottawa. But with Ray at quarterback the catch up is more of a threat than a desire. Two years removed from the Grey Cup means a new team in Toronto. ' ' ' |
