ATLANTA (AP) – Dennis Smith Jr scored 19 points and the New York Knicks snapped a franchise-worst, 18-game losing streak with a 106-91 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.
The Knicks ended their longest skid within a single season with their first victory since January 4 at the Los Angeles Lakers. New York, with the Eastern Conference’s worst record and second-worst overall, had dropped 26 of 27.
Kadeem Allen and John Jenkins each added 14 points. Damyean Dotson finished with 13 points and DeAndre Jordan had 13 rebounds for New York, which never trailed and only was tied twice, in the second quarter.
The Hawks, coming off an exciting victory over the Lakers two nights earlier, were flat throughout. They never pulled within single digits after John Collins’ hook shot made it 87-78 with 9:39 remaining.
Dewayne Dedmon led Atlanta with 21 points. Trae Young had 16 points and 11 assists.
The Knicks were up 14-0 before ending the first with a 28-13 lead. Mitchell Robinson closed the period by blocking DeAndre’ Bembry’s three-point attempt.
