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Atlanta Hawks play the New York Knicks again

By John Buhler

Jan 3, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Kent Bazemore (24) shoots a layup during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks won 111-97. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Kent Bazemore (24) shoots a layup during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks won 111-97. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Atlanta Hawks will get their opportunity to avenge Sunday afternoon’s loss to the New York Knicks, as Atlanta will host the Knicks on Tuesday night.

The Atlanta Hawks will play their fourth and final game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday evening. Tipoff is at 8:00 PM ET at Philips Arena and the game will air on Fox Sports Southeast.

Atlanta will have played three of their last five games against the Knicks when New York comes to town on Tuesday. This game is also the first home game of the year for the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta won the first two games against the Knicks this season, but could not stop shooting guard Arron Afflalo on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, as he led the Knicks with a season-high 38 points in a 111-97 victory for New York over Atlanta.

The Atlanta Hawks enter Tuesday night’s matchup with New York in fourth place in the tight Eastern Conference with a 21-14 record, 3.5 games back of the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers. Atlanta trails the Chicago Bulls (20-12) and the Miami Heat (21-13) in the East by half a game.

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Tuesday night will be the first game at the Highlight Factory in over a week. Coincidentally, the Atlanta Hawks’ last home game came against the New York Knicks on December 26th. While Atlanta went 1-2 on their three-game road trip, the Hawks are obviously a better club at home (12-6) than they are on the road (9-8). The Knicks are a sub-.500 team away from Madison Square Garden (7-11).

Perhaps Sunday’s lackluster showing out on the perimeter defensively will inspire the Atlanta Hawks to play with conviction out on the arc. New York likely will not shoot as well as they did on Sunday afternoon this Tuesday night, so the Atlanta big men (Al Horford, Paul Millsap, etc.) will need to get ready for a great deal of rebounds on the defensive end of the floor.

Back-to-back losses to the New York Knicks won’t push the Atlanta Hawks out of playoff position, but it would certainly take them out of home court advantage in the first round for the time being. Atlanta will want a top four seed in the Eastern Conference should the club want to orchestrate another deep run in the NBA Playoffs this postseason.

Next: Dennis Schroder out of Atlanta Hawks' rotation?

Look for the Atlanta Hawks to come out with a great amount of energy on Tuesday night, as they will ring in the new year in the Highlight Factory for the first time. Let’s Go Hawks!

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