Amare Stoudemire went to the free throw line at Philips Arena as all those bandwagon New York Knicks fans screamed at the top of their lungs: "MVP! MVP!" The stunned Atlanta Hawks fans that saw their team's hopes of a win evaporate stayed silent.
Yep, it was another great moment in Atlanta sports history folks. Hawks fans get shot down by a bunch of Knicks fans that had their head burrowed in the ground for the past 10 years while their franchise struggled. And the Hawks got absolutely pasted by a waif-thin Knicks team that was without Chauncey Billups and Ronny Turiaf.
Atlanta's fans, the team -- they all should be utterly embarrassed by what happened both on and off their home court on Sunday night at the "Highlight Factory."
Stoudemire scored 26 points and Landry Fields added 15 to post the New York to a 92-79 win over Atlanta.
Josh Smith added 17 and Kirk Hinrich had 15 for an Atlanta team that turned the ball over 21 times.
"The disappointing thing is that we did not play with that toughness that needs to be played this time of the season," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "Right now we're in disarray. We're not playing with the type of confidence or the type of swagger that we should be at home. And that's a very disturbing thing."
This one was literally tossed away in 151 seconds. Jamal Crawford posted a jump shot to cut the New York lead to 64-63 with 9:28 left in the game to give the Hawks faithful hope.
But Atlanta allowed New York to go on an 11-0 run as the Knicks fans got obnoxious and loud at Philips Arena. Two fouls, three turnovers and a missed jumper later, the Hawks didn't stand a chance.
Stoudemire nailed a pair of free throws with fans of New York's basketball team serenading him with chants of MVP with 7:53 left to post the Knicks to a 72-63 lead before Shawne Williams took essentially took the life out of the Hawks and their fans with a 3-pointer with 7:07 left.
By then, the Highlight Factory had become Madison Square Garden South. This one was over. Atlanta never got closer than 10 points thereafter, as their fans scurried for the exits.
The Hawks couldn't even get to the 80 points mark against a Knicks team that allowed the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers to post 119 on them a few days ago.
Carmelo Anthony had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for New York, which improved to 4-3 since the blockbuster trade that shipped Melo to the Big Apple.
Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson also posted 14 each for Atlanta, which faces the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at the Highlight Factory.