During their four-game winning streak, the Atlanta Hawks are beginning to show the expected results from the offseason when they created a powerful backcourt by acquiring Dejounte Murray and pairing him with Trae Young.
The guards appear to be hitting their stride and will test their newfound compatibility Friday when the Hawks host the New York Knicks.
The Knicks, who have lost two straight, are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference and the Hawks are 1 1/2 games behind them in eighth place.
This will be the third meeting between the teams after they split the first two in New York, with the Knicks winning the most recent contest, 113-89 on Dec. 7 at Madison Square Garden. The final meeting will be Feb. 15 in Atlanta.
The Hawks won their season-long fourth straight game Wednesday, beating the Dallas Mavericks 130-122 on the road. Murray scored 30 points and Young had 18 points and 12 assists.
Murray is averaging 28.3 points over the past three games and 20.6 points for the season. He has led the team in scoring 10 times. Young, who averages 27.1 and has led the team in scoring 27 times, said he’s less interested in padding his statistics and more interested in winning.
Young took a season-low 11 shots against Dallas while his 12 assists were his most since Jan. 2.
New York is coming off a 116-105 loss to Washington on Wednesday, when coach Tom Thibodeau bemoaned the lack of offense.
The Knicks are led by Julius Randle, who averages 24.2 points and 10.7 rebounds. Randle needs 23 points to catch Mark Jackson (5,544) for No. 24 on the Knicks’ all-time scoring list.
New York will be without Mitchell Robinson (7.2 points, 8.9 rebounds), who played only nine minutes against the Wizards before leaving with a fractured thumb. Robinson underwent surgery Thursday and will miss at least three weeks.
His absence would mean a larger role for Isaiah Hartenstein (5.1 points, 6.1 rebounds) and Jericho Sims (3.5 points, 4.2 rebounds).
