Hawks aim to bounce back against reeling Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

03/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks didn't open their current road trip the way they had planned this past weekend, but seem to have a good shot at bouncing back Monday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Atlanta had its four-game winning streak cut short with Saturday's 100-94 loss at Miami in the opener of a three-game trek. Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jamal Crawford scored 24 points off the bench to lead Atlanta, which dropped to 15-15 as the visitor this season.

Joe Johnson netted 20 points and Josh Smith had 17 in the tough loss.

"We were controlling the game, and we had the tempo where we wanted it," said Hawks head coach Mike Woodson. "Teams are going to make runs. [The Heat] made a great run. They stayed with the zone."

The Hawks are fourth in the Eastern Conference and three games back of Orlando for the lead in the Southeast Division, and will also visit Washington on the trek. They had a chance to stay within striking distance of the Magic for the top spot, but Orlando fended off the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday to extend its lead.

New York is coming off a disturbing loss to the worst team in the NBA, the New Jersey Nets, and has dropped two straight and four of five games. In Saturday's 113-93 setback to the Nets in the opener of a short homestand, David Lee recorded 23 points and six boards in losing fashion.

Wilson Chandler registered a double-double with 20 points and 10 boards for New York, which blew a 16-point lead in the first half to fall to 13-21 in the Big Apple this season. The Knicks also set an NBA record by going 0-for-18 from three-point range. The last time they did not make a three-pointer in a game was on March 29, 2006, when they went 0-of-6 from downtown versus Boston.

"We gave them confidence," said Knicks newcomer Tracy McGrady, who posted two points and seven assists. "And once that happened, all hell froze over."

After tonight's game versus the Hawks, New York will kick off a five-game road trip through San Antonio, Memphis, Dallas, Philadelphia and Boston. McGrady, meanwhile, is questionable for Monday with body soreness.

The Knicks have won two of the first three meetings of the season with Atlanta, and 15 of the last 19 meetings between the teams at the Garden.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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