Crawford and Horford had back-to-back baskets early in the fourth to extend the lead to 11 and the Knicks wouldn't get closer than eight again. The Hawks shot 54 percent for the game.

Plagued all season by slow starts, the Knicks went with another lineup change, inserting Douglas for Larry Hughes, and quickly opened a 14-7 lead. The Hawks cut it to 25-23 after one quarter, but New York used a 10-2 spurt to open a 37-27 on Harrington's follow dunk with 8:24 remaining in the half.

Hughes, who went from not playing at all to a starter to a reserve, finished with 14 points and eight assists.

"You always want to know when you're going in and what's your rotation and things like that," Hughes said. "Once you hit the court, you kind of have to get in where you fit in really and go out and make positive plays, give positive energy."

The Knicks extended the lead to 14 - their largest of the season - with 2 1/2 minutes to go after the second of Harrington's consecutive baskets, before Atlanta scored the final six to cut it to 54-47 at the break.

Notes

The Knicks host Golden State on Friday to finish a stretch of three straight and seven of eight games at home. ... New York was still without reserve guard Nate Robinson (sprained right ankle), who could return Friday. ... The Knicks had three six-game losing streaks last season.