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Atlanta 104, New York 106 - Final

How did the Knicks pull out a tight home victory?

Carmelo Anthony's Perimeter Game

Carmelo Anthony went nuts from beyond the arc and on the perimeter in general.

That final three-point play he hit was his first basket from inside the paint all night. Josh Smith and Al Horford kept the paint under wraps. The Knicks only scored 22 points from inside, but Anthony didn't mind as he unleashed 9-of-12 from downtown and scored 42 points. 39 of those points were from outside. 

He avoided Smith, who had given him trouble in the past and went 15-of-28 from the field. This was a slump buster, as Anthony had been shooting only 37 percent over his last five games.

Big Bench Scoring

Both Amar'e Stoudemire and J.R. Smith tallied 18 points, while Pablo Prigioni added six of his own.

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Overall, the Knicks' bench went off for 42 points, to just 25 for Atlanta. Stoudemire continued his efficient play, going 6-of-9 from the field and getting to the free-throw line eight times. This has been the story with Stoudemire since his return. He has embraced the reserve role and become a super efficient player. His eight rebounds also led the team.

Smith hit only one three, but didn't let that hinder his offensive performance. He finished 7-of-15 from the field to get his 18 points.

Long-Range Bombing

The Knicks are becoming famous for their three-point barrage. 

This game only added to that reputation. Obviously Carmelo Anthony sunk nine bombs, but elsewhere the Knicks came up with seven additional threes. Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Pablo Prigioni all tallied two treys. 

The Hawks shot 60 percent from the field. The only way New York could contend with that would be hitting 16-of-27 threes.

Atlanta 104, New York 106 - Final

New York Knicks Boxscore

Boxscore courtesy of NBA.com

Atlanta 104, New York 106 - Final

Atlanta Hawks Boxscore

Boxscore courtesy of NBA.com

Atlanta 104, New York 106 - Final

New York Knicks Plus/Minus

Carmelo Anthony: -4

Tyson Chandler: +5

Jason Kidd: +3

Raymond Felton: -1

Iman Shumpert: -4

Amar'e Stoudemire: 0

Kurt Thomas: +8

Steve Novak: -1

Pablo Prigioni: +3

J.R. Smith: 0

James White: +1

James White did not play in the first half.

Atlanta 104, New York 106 - Final

Atlanta Hawks Plus/Minus

Kyle Korver: +12

Josh Smith: -2

Al Horford: +10

Devin Harris: +8

Jeff Teague: -2

Ivan Johnson: -8

DeShawn Stevenson: -2

Zaza Pachulia: -9

Jannero Pargo: -11

John Jenkins: -6

USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta 104, New York 106 - Final

Josh Smith, shooting 29 percent from beyond the arc, got a nice look at a game-winner, but bricked it. The New York Knicks pull out a win and pull within one game of the Miami Heat for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.

Carmelo Anthony was huge all night and his three-point play at the tail end of the fourth finished off the Hawks. It also gave him 42 points on 15-of-28 shooting. Amar'e Stoudemire and J.R. Smith posted 18 points a piece off the bench.

For Atlanta, Jeff Teague came within a point of his career-high, finishing with 27 points. Smith chipped in 20, but made crucial errors down the stretch.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for postgame stats and analysis.

Atlanta 104, New York 106 - :12 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Believe it or not, that three-point play by Carmelo Anthony was his first basket inside the paint all night.

Hell of a play, going left and switching to the right hand to avoid Josh Smith's block attempt. That is a play you'll often see smaller guards pull off, but for a guy as big as Anthony, it is doubly impressive.

Atlanta 104, New York 103 - :22 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Josh Smith makes another huge error, setting too wide a pick and being called for the offensive foul.

At this stage of the game, that may be incredibly costly. 

Atlanta 104, New York 103 - :37 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Josh Smith has quietly worked his way up tot he 20-point mark. He is 9-of-15 from the field.

Atlanta 104, New York 103 - :37 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Josh Smith with a huge error with the backcourt violation, giving the Knicks another chance. 

He is going to redeem himself with a big defensive stop though. Atlanta will have the lead and the ball with 37 seconds to go.

What do they look for offensively here? 

I let Jeff Teague penetrate. Outside of that I'm unsure. The problem with the Hawks is the lack of a No. 1 option. That only is accentuated by Lou Williams' absence. 

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Atlanta 102, New York 101 - 1:40 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Tyson Chandler knows better than to try to get in the way of a Josh Smith elevation.

Smith's relatively uncontested dunk pulls the Hawks even.

Carmelo Anthony is going to be whistled for a technical after he is raked in the eye by DeShawn Stevenson. Kyle Korver's free throw gives the Hawks a small lead.

Atlanta 99, New York 101 - 2:30 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

The Knicks have now hit 16 threes. Despite the Hawks shooting 61 percent, the Knick's threes are keeping them with a slim lead.

Atlanta 91, New York 92 - 5:40 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

This Carmelo Anthony perimeter performance is starting to get out of hand.

He has scored 37 points, while not hitting a shot within 17 feet.

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Atlanta 84, New York 86 - 8:10 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

DeShawn Stevenson, the only member of the Atlanta Hawks with championship experience, drills his fourth three of the game. That brings the Hawks to within two points of New York.

Stevenson's 15 points off the bench tie his season-high, set Dec. 7 against Washington.

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Atlanta 79, New York 84- 10:09 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

The Hawks are looking to the interior right now, which may not be the smartest idea. 

Zaza Pachulia isn't going to win this game for them. Coming off a 27-point performance, Kyle Korver has only six points on six shots.

They are shooting 60 percent from the field, but the Knicks are leading the three-point battle 15-7, giving the score difference. Atlanta may have to look elsewhere with Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire clogging the lane.

Atlanta 74, New York 82 - End Third Quarter

Carmelo Anthony's nine three-pointers have tied a franchise record. His 33 points have given the Knicks an eight-point lead entering the final quarter.

Raymond Felton has 12 points and nine assists, while both J.R. Smith (11 points) and Amar'e Stoudemire (10 points) have helped off the bench.

Jeff Teague has posted 23 points, five shy of his career-high for Atlanta. Josh Smith has added 15 points and DeShawn Stevenson has 12 off the bench.

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Atlanta 73, New York 79 - :30 Remaining in Third Quarter

Amar'e Stoudemire's presence tonight hasn't led to a ton of production. He has eight points and five boards right now, in just 15 minutes.

What he has done, is periodically take Josh Smith off of Carmelo Anthony. Smith has been stuck defending Stoudemire in the post, allowing Anthony to run amok out on the perimeter.

Anthony has 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting, none of which have come in the paint.

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Atlanta 70, New York 72 - 3:30 Remaining in Third Quarter

Carmelo Anthony has eight threes (8-of-11) tonight. The NBA record stands at 12 threes in a game, and Anthony has a full 15 minutes to go.

Kobe Bryant nailed 12 threes back in 2003. Donyell Marshall repeated the feat in 2005 with the Toronto Raptors. 

Ironically, the last time Atlanta played, Kyle Korver put up eight treys against the Boston Celtics.

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Atlanta 70, New York 68 - 4:20 Remaining in Third Quarter

Carmelo Anthony now with 11 points in the third quarter, he has taken over and has 27 overall.

This is his seventh-straight game with 25-or-more points. He has scored 20-or-more points in 29-straight.

Jeff Teague has 23 points tonight and is only five-shy of tying his career-high.

Atlanta 61, New York 63 - 8:20 Remaining in Third Quarter

Wondering where Jason Kidd is?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">

Knicks are saying that Jason Kidd isn't injured. He's just resting. I'm sure Kidd is thrilled that that is the Knicks official statement

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) January 28, 2013

With Pablo Prigioni and Raymond Felton playing so well, Kidd's absence isn't noticed yet.

Atlanta 52, New York 52 - 11:30 Remaining in Third Quarter

Carmelo Anthony isn't shooting particularly well, but thanks to five three pointers, he's got 19 points.

Josh Smith is doing a good job keeping him out of the paint, but not much he can do on these long threes.

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Atlanta 52, New York 52 - 11:30 Remaining in Third Quarter

Fun question for those of your in the comments section:

Who benefits more from Rajon Rondo's injury: the Knicks or the Hawks?

Atlanta 52, New York 52 - Halftime

New York Knicks Plus/Minus

Carmelo Anthony: -6

Tyson Chandler: +3

Jason Kidd: +3

Raymond Felton: -9

Iman Shumpert: -2

Amar'e Stoudemire: -4 

Kurt Thomas: +8

Steve Novak: -1

Pablo Prigioni: +9

J.R. Smith: -1

Atlanta 52, New York 52 - Halftime

Atlanta Hawks Plus/Minus

Kyle Korver: +9

Josh Smith: +6

Al Horford: +3

Devin Harris: 0

Jeff Teague: +1

Ivan Johnson: -9

DeShawn Stevenson: +2

Zaza Pachulia: 0

Jannero Pargo: -6

John Jenkins: -6

Atlanta 52, New York 52 - Halftime

DeShawn Stevenson's three at the end of the quarter knots up the game at 52 heading into the intermission.

Carmelo Anthony finally got going late in the second and has 16 points overall. Raymond Felton has chipped in nine points, while the bench has supplied 20.

For the Hawks, Jeff Teague has been incredible, going for 18 points. Stevenson has chipped in 12 off the bench.