“We didn’t play with any purpose tonight, and I’ve got to take responsibility for that,” Coach Mike Woodson said. “Trust me, I’m not happy about it. I’ve got to get us out of this rut.”

The Knicks (3-6) have lost five straight games at home for the first time since February 2010. The Hawks (6-4) opened the second quarter with a 10-1 run, and the Knicks were never able to regain the lead. Despite 23 points and 12 rebounds from Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks shot just 38 percent while allowing Atlanta to shoot 56 percent with eight scorers in double figures.

Afterward, Woodson and Anthony sounded off about the team’s lackluster defensive effort.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Anthony said. “It’s a nasty feeling right now.”

Andrea Bargnani (16 points) and Iman Shumpert (11) were the only other Knicks in double figures. J. R. Smith, starting his third consecutive game, shot 3 for 18 from the field for 7 points and is now 8 for 43 at home this season.

“I’m playing terrible,” Smith said. “I’ve played terrible since I got back.”

Smith was the N.B.A.’s sixth man of the year last season, a dynamic asset off the bench who consistently supplied the Knicks with gusto (albeit with a maddening tendency to shoot too much). But since missing most of training camp with a knee injury and five games because of a league suspension, Smith was at a loss for words to explain why his shots were not falling.