The New York media was hounding Jamal Crawford before the game, asking him when he was finally going to drop a big game against his former team. He responded by filling up their notebooks with a sensational performance that stopped the Knicks from getting their longest winning streak since 2006.
Crawford poured in 21 points and Al Horford added 17, leading the Hawks to a 99-90 win over the Knicks on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Mike Bibby had 14 and Josh Smith and Marvin Williams added 13 each for Atlanta, which heads to Toronto with a two-game winning streak.
The Hawks lead by as many as 20 in the first half before cruising to the easy victory. New York got as close as four when Wilson Chandler cut the lead to 75-71 with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter, but Horford scored four of Atlanta's next six points to reestablish a double-digit edge.
Joe Johnson continued his recent struggles, scoring just seven points for Atlanta, but he also poured in 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Amare Stoudamire lead New York with 24 points and 10 boards in the losing effort.