Hawks control 2nd half, hand NY 5th straight loss

NEW YORK – Al Horford scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Josh Smith added 22 points and 12 boards, and the Atlanta Hawks sent the New York Knicks to their fifth straight loss with a 114-101 victory Wednesday night.

Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby each had 19 points for the Hawks, who trailed by 14 in the first half but dominated the final 24 minutes. Too deep and athletic for the Knicks, the Hawks seized control late in the third quarter and pulled away midway through the fourth.

Former Knicks guard Jamal Crawford added nine of his 11 in the second half.

Toney Douglas scored a season-high 23 points in his first start for the Knicks (1-8), off to their worst start since also dropping eight of nine to open the 2002-03 season. Al Harrington also had 23, but drew loud groans from the crowd after botching a wide-open layup with a little more than 4 minutes left.

Trailing by five, Atlanta scored 12 straight points late in the third quarter, opening a 78-71 lead on Crawford's 3-pointer with 2:50 left. Horford had a three-point play and another bucket in the run and finished with 14 points in the period, when Atlanta made 14 of 20 shots to open an 84-77 advantage.

Crawford and Horford had back-to-back baskets early in the fourth to extend the lead to 11 and the Knicks wouldn't get closer than eight again. The Hawks scored 67 points in the second half and shot 54 percent for the game.

Plagued all season by slow starts, the Knicks got going quickly in this one, opening a 14-7 lead. The Hawks cut it to 25-23 after one quarter, but New York used a 10-2 spurt to open a 37-27 on Harrington's follow dunk with 8:24 remaining in the half.

The Knicks extended the lead to 14 — their largest of the season — with 2 1/2 minutes to go after the second of Harrington's consecutive baskets, before Atlanta scored the final six to cut it to 54-47 at the break.

NOTES: The Knicks host Golden State on Friday to finish a stretch of three straight and seven of eight games at home. ... New York was still without reserve guard Nate Robinson (sprained right ankle), who could return Friday. ... The Knicks had trailed by 20 or more in six of their first eight games.