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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) – It isn't easy being the ninth man in an
eight-man rotation, especially for a player who was a starter for
the first half of the season.
Othella Harrington has been trying to make the best of that
situation, and lately he's been thriving at it as injuries have
depleted the New York Knicks.
Harrington had his highest-scoring game since joining the Knicks
in a January trade, tallying 18 points Friday night as New York
cruised to a 101-65 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
"It's hard at times, it's frustrating because you want to go
out there and contribute and help the team win," Harrington said.
"But I've been there before (in Houston during his rookie year),
and I'm able to get over the frustration."
The Knicks had their largest margin of victory in five years and
held Atlanta to the lowest point total by a New York opponent this
season. With Miami losing to Toronto, the Knicks moved within one
game of the Heat for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Harrington, making a rare start as Larry Johnson missed his
third straight game with a sore back, shot 8-for-13 from the field.
Harrington has shot 19-for-27 while totaling 46 points in the past
three games.
The Knicks also were without starters Marcus Camby (bruised hip)
and Allan Houston (thigh contusion), but they didn't need them in a
game that wasn't close after the midpoint of the first quarter.
Latrell Sprewell scored 22 points and Glen Rice had 17, with
each scoring 11 in the first quarter as the Knicks opened a 33-17
lead with all five starters playing the entire period.
New York opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run for a 43-17
lead, and the Knicks were shooting 71 percent by the time they
reached 50 points on an 18-footer by Sprewell with 6:48 left in the
second quarter.
The lead surpassed 30 points when Mark Jackson made a reverse
layup with 4:37 left in the third quarter, and seldom-used reserves
Rick Brunson, Felton Spencer and Travis Knight saw extensive
playing time in the fourth.
The Hawks, who were without Lorenzen Wright as he served a
suspension for fighting with Cleveland's Chris Gatling, were led by
Nazr Mohammed with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
"We weren't aggressive and they came out and let us know that
this is their house," Atlanta's Jason Terry said. "That's why
they are a playoff team and you see our record (24-55)."
Harrington was acquired from Vancouver in a trade for Erick
Strickland, but his playing time has hinged on the availability of
Johnson. With coach Jeff Van Gundy preferring to stick with an
eight-man rotation, Harrington has been the ninth man when the
Knicks have been at full strength.
"I knew I was coming to a situation with Larry, Kurt (Thomas)
and Marcus, so my thing was to come in and not rock the boat and
try to fit in as well as I could," Harrington said.
With Johnson missing 11 of the past 19 games because of a
chronically sore back, Harrington has had a chance to break into
the rotation.
He scored the bulk of his points on low-post moves, rarely
meeting much resistance from Atlanta's low-post defenders, and also
grabbed six rebounds.
"I love his game, I love his work ethic," Rice said. "He gets
out there and he's a warrior. Regardless of how big his defender
is, he takes it right at them."
Game notes
Camby is not expected to play Sunday at Philadelphia.
Johnson and Houston are day-to-day, and Houston said he "thinks"
he'll play. ... The Knicks admitted they were one of the teams that
voted against the package of rules changes. The measure passed,
reportedly by a vote of 22-6 with one exception. Coach Jeff Van
Gundy said he had a hard time understanding how teams could vote in
favor when all the details of the changes haven't even been worked
out yet. "Even though we voted no," general manager Scott Layden
said, "you have to look at how it helps your team. And we're well
coached, we have some outstanding outside shooters and some guys
who can block shots. You can't feel badly that the vote didn't go
your way." ... The Hawks lost their 13th consecutive road game.
They lost by 35 in their previous visit to Madison Square Garden in
early November, but won their next two games against New York at
Philips Arena. ... The Knicks had a season-high 32 assists.
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NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 113
Orlando 110
Cleveland 97
New Jersey 91
New York 101
Atlanta 65
Indiana 113
Boston 108
Toronto 94
Miami 82
Utah 94
Chicago 83
Dallas 101
Sacramento 97
Denver 108
Golden State 92
Phoenix 109
Seattle 100
Houston 109
Portland 103
LA Clippers 111
Minnesota 105
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