Hawks stumble into matchup with surging Knicks

The New York Knicks, riding the momentum of a comeback win on Christmas Day, open a three-game road trip with a stop in Atlanta to play the struggling Hawks on Saturday.

New York beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 126-124 on Thursday for its third straight victory, erasing a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Knicks have won 12 of their past 15 games and are only 2 1/2 games behind the Detroit Pistons for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta has gone the other way. The Hawks have lost five in a row...