Houston Carries Knicks Again

Allan Houston didn’t let the biggest shot of his career quickly become a forgotten memory.

Two days after sinking a last-second basket that gave New York a stunning victory over Miami in the first round, Houston set a career playoff-high with 34 points Tuesday night as the Knicks quickly stole the home-court edge from the Atlanta Hawks, 100-92, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.

“I wanted to stay hungry out there,” said Houston, who shot less than 42% during the regular season and struggled to mesh with the revamped Knicks. “I didn’t want to stop until I left the floor.”

Latrell Sprewell added 31 points, giving the Knicks a youthful, lightning-quick duo that was simply too much for the older Hawks to handle.

“Those guys were shooting so well, it didn’t matter who was guarding them,” said Atlanta’s Steve Smith, hampered in the second half by foul trouble. “Unfortunately, they were shooting well together. Usually, it’s just one guy shooting that well.”

The Hawks went nearly seven minutes without a field goal in the third quarter and New York rebounded from an eight-point deficit to lead, 80-73, by the end of the period.

Then, Atlanta failed to make a basket for the first 6:33 of the final quarter. By the time Ed Gray made a jumper for the Hawks, New York had put the game away with a 12-3 spurt.

The Knicks tightened their defensive noose around the Hawks after Chris Crawford, who led Atlanta with 26 points, ignited the Hawks with 20 points in the first half, eclipsing his career high before the teams went to the locker room.

New York’s Patrick Ewing, playing with myriad injuries, spent most of the game in foul trouble, but it didn’t matter. Houston and Sprewell handled the load at the offensive end, while the Knicks limited Atlanta to 11-for-36 shooting in the second half.

Houston was 13 for 20 from the field--and three of his misses came outside the three-point line. He scored 15 points in the third quarter to turn the tide in favor of the Knicks.

“They shot well,” Hawk center Dikembe Mutombo said. “I’ve got to give them credit. That third quarter was amazing.”

Sprewell scored 17 points in the first half, then helped put the game away with a 10-point effort in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t want to have a letdown after Miami,” Sprewell said. “We’re playing well right now. Regardless of all that’s been said, we can play together.”

Atlanta remained confident despite the loss.

“They stole one from us, but we know we can win in New York,” Smith said. “We’ve done it before.”