Before Knicks fall to Hawks in OT
seconds remaining. The Latvian needed to connect on all 3, but he missed the first and the Knicks (1615) finally ran out of opportunities.
“I was thinking I had to hit all three. That’s all I have to do,” Porzingis said.
Anthony was long gone when the Knicks flubbed all these chances. The All-Star had grabbed Sefolosha’s neck while trying to box out for a rebound with 3:08 remaining in the second quarter, and then swung his fist backward to connect with his opponent’s face. Sefolosha responded by charging at Anthony and shoving the 32-year-old for a Flagrant 1. Anthony was assessed a Flagrant 2 after a review — which results in an automatic ejection — and he walked off without much argument.
Anthony declined to talk to the media afterwards.
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek also lost his cool in overtime when picking up a technical for arguing a call. The ensuing Atlanta free throw proved pivotal, and Hornacek copped to his mistake.
“I told our guys, ‘I can’t get a technical in that situation, either,’” the coach said. “A point here or there in a close game could make a difference. Even though I didn’t agree with the call, I shouldn’t have gotten a technical.”
Unlike his previous ejection last month in Boston, Anthony couldn’t blame referee Tony Brothers for biased officiating. Anthony’s punch, while back-handed and not powerful, was excessive and worthy of an ejection. Without Anthony, the Knicks scored just 38 points in the second half.
Still, they led for most of the game – and never trailed by more than six – thanks to scrappy defense and Atlanta’s poor shooting. Rose finished with a team-high 26 points, but missed 10 of his final 12 field-goal attempts. Porzingis recorded 24 points but shot just 7 for 17 while committing five turnovers.
Atlanta (16-16) also flubbed two chances to win in regulation, with Dennis Schroder (game-high 27 points) throwing up two bricks — including one at the buzzer.
In addition to Anthony spending most of the game in the locker room, starting shooting guard Courtney Lee missed the game because of a sprained shooting hand. Lee said he had fluid drained from the hand and received an injection on Tuesday, but didn’t feel well enough to suit up.
He was hopeful about playing Friday in New Orleans.
Sasha Vujacic started in Lee’s spot over Justin Holiday because Hornacek wanted to maintain continuity with the second unit. Vujacic logged 27 minutes but missed six of his seven field-goal attempts. He finished with two points.
Joakim Noah played a seasonhigh 38 minutes and recorded 14 points with 16 boards. But he was ultimately outplayed by Atlanta center Dwight Howard — who not only finished with 22 rebounds, but added to the feistiness of the contest by fouling Porzingis hard for a flagrant.