ATLANTA, March 30 (UPI) -- Willie Green delivered 15 of his 20 points in the final period Friday to help the Atlanta Hawks cool off New York 100-90.
Green made 6-of-7 from the field during the final 12 minutes, allowing the Hawks to hold on and snap a two-game skid.
It was only the second loss in 10 games for the Knicks since Mike Woodson took over as interim coach in place of Mike D'Antoni. New York's advantage over Milwaukee in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference was reduced to 1 1/2 games.
Joe Johnson had 28 points for Atlanta and Josh Smith added 23. The Hawks climbed within a half game of Indiana for the fifth seed in the East.
New York was led by Carmelo Anthony with 36 points and Iman Shumpert had 25. Point guard Jeremy Lin missed his third straight game with a sore knee.
