im but still do it within kind of the confines of whats appropriate, Budenholzer said. I think to be ejected was probably the right thing and he knows it, but he also knows he wants to continue to play physical and be a presence on the boards.UP NEXTHawks: Host New Orleans on Tuesday. Atl

NEW YORK -- Joakim Noahs illness made it an unsettling morning for the Knicks backup centers. Carmelo Anthony made sure it was a smooth afternoon.Anthony matched his season high with 31 points and New York beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-94 on Sunday for its fourth straight home victory.Anthony has never been a morning person, but he wanted to come out aggressively Sunday after the Knicks followed a loss Thursday in Washington with a lengthy meeting Saturday featuring players, coaches and even team president Phil Jackson.Some nights like today calls for me to get it going early, Anthony said. My mindset was just to come out and get it going early.Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who led most of the way against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.Dwight Howard had 18 points and 18 rebounds, but point guard Dennis Schroder missed all eight shots as the Hawks dropped their second straight following a six-game winning streak.I feel like we didnt play well enough on the road. You have to bring a better game but give the New York Knicks credit, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. Carmelo played a heck of a game, hit a lot of tough shots.The Knicks didnt have Noah to defend Howard after doctors sent him home because of an illness. Kyle OQuinn was told during pregame he would start, and rookie Marshall Plumlee had to rush into the city by train and then taxi after he received a morning phone call and was told he would be called up from Westchester of the NBA Development League to make his NBA debut.Opportunity knocked and we were all ready as a team defensively, OQuinn said.Howard bounced back nicely after he was ejected for a flagrant foul Friday in the Hawks 100-96 loss in Charlotte, while Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 19 points and Kyle Korver scored 17.Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee both scored 14 points and OQuinn had eight points and eight rebounds.The Knicks led by two with 7 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter before Anthonys jumper started them on a 12-0 burst. Willy Hernangomezs three-point play extended New Yorks lead to 65-51.Atlanta never made a serious dent in the lead, as the Knicks repeatedly hit 3-pointers every time it seemed the Hawks were building momentum.Anthony banked in a long jumper from the right side to end the first quarter, giving the Knicks a 24-20 lead that they expanded to 46-41 at halftime.TIP-INSHawks: Howard had his 10th double-double of the season by halftime. ... Thabo Sefolosha was active after missing the last two games with a sprained left knee but didnt play.Knicks: Plumlee was scoreless in 5 1/2 minutes after getting out of his cab in traffic and sprinting to the arena. When I got here they said, `Hey, do you need a warm up? he said. I said, `No, Im already warm. I ran here. ... The Knicks beat the Hawks for the third straight time.SCHRODERS STRUGGLESSchroder finished with one point and three assists, sitting out the entire fourth quarter.Personally didnt feel good, he said. I didnt hit my shots. I didnt play like I did before but I got to do a better job of being ready to prepare myself.HOWARDS HACKHoward was tossed Friday when he elbowed Cody Zeller midway through the fourth quarter. Budenholzer said he talked to Howard about the play but wants him to keep providing toughness. Hopefully he can find ways to be physical, let the other team feel him but still do it within kind of the confines of whats appropriate, Budenholzer said. I think to be ejected was probably the right thing and he knows it, but he also knows he wants to continue to play physical and be a presence on the boards.UP NEXTHawks: Host New Orleans on Tuesday. Atlanta is 6-1 at home.Knicks: Host Portland on Tuesday, trying to snap a four-game home losing streak to the Trail Blazers. Scarpe Air Max 90 Outlet . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Air Max 90 Scontate . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.airmax90scontate.it/ . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Air Max 90 Outlet Italia . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Air Max 90 Uomo Saldi .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh has been tight-lipped in recent days about the struggles that prompted the team to bring in free agents for tryouts this week.Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer has been with Walsh for all five of his seasons in the league, so if anyone knows how the kicker is dealing with the criticism, Priefer might be the guy.It kind of lit a fire under him, Priefer said on Thursday. He was a little bit, got ticked off in a good way I think. Because hes a competitive young man. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job. Hes a competitive guy and thats the way you want him to react.After Walsh missed his third extra point, had a field goal blocked and errantly had a kickoff reach the end zone when it was supposed to land inside the 10-yard line in an ugly overtime loss to Detroit on Sunday, the Vikings brought in six kickers on Tuesday to look at as possible replacements. They ultimately decided not to sign any of the free agents this week, but it did send a clear message to Walsh that he needs to be more consistent.When asked how he thinks Walsh will respond, coach Mike Zimmer said: I wish I could say I have an idea, but I dont. But I do know this kid is pretty confident in his abilities and he wants to prove a llot of people wrong.dddddddddddd Thats part of it, too.The Vikings have lost three straight games after a 5-0 start, and they desperately need Walsh to figure things out heading into a game at Washington on Sunday. The straight-talking Zimmer appeared to be hinting at a parting with Walsh on Monday, but has since tried to reiterate his support for the kicker.The guy has missed three extra points. I can probably get 10 guys that screwed up three points this year, Zimmer said. We all make mistakes. I think the guy is a very talented guy.Priefer said he expects Walsh will pull himself out of the funk, as he did after a rough senior season at Georgia. Priefer said Walsh hit all eight of his tries in practice on Thursday, perhaps a little more focused after the tryouts earlier in the week.If he didnt react that way I would be really worried and then we probably would be looking for another guy, Priefer said. He got, I dont want to say angry, but he got a little fired up in a very respectful way. Just like he is, he always is. I expect him to go out and kick well for us this weekend and the rest of the year.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '