This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Thabo Sefolosha didn’t exactly gain much respect for Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday night during the Atlanta Hawks’ 102-98 victory over the New York Knicks. “He threw a punch,” Sefolosha said. “A fist right to my face. It’s whatever. The referee — I’m glad they looked back at it — they made the right call.”

Anthony and Sefolosha were tied up near the basket positioned for a rebound when the Knicks star jabbed his right forearm against Sefolosha’s face. The two players exchanged heated words and were separated. Players and assistant coaches on both benches stood up, and security personnel for each team came onto the floor. Anthony followed Sefolosha to the Hawks’ end of the floor, but the situation calmed down.

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It first appeared that the officials might just call offsetting technicals and give Anthony a break but he was ejected for a flagrant foul 2. “That would’ve been terrible,” Sefolosha said. “So I’m glad they switched the call and actually took another look at it.”

Anthony refused to speak with reporters as he walked to board the team bus after the game.

As for the game itself, Dennis Schroder scored 27 points, Dwight Howard added 16 points and 22 rebounds, as the Hawks took advantage of Anthony’s ejection to beat the Knicks in overtime.

Derrick Rose finished with 26 points for New York, but the star point guard fell as he was dribbling against Sefolosha near the Knicks’ basket and lost his footing with six seconds left in overtime and Atlanta leading by one.

“It’s no excuses,” Rose said. “We still had a chance to win the game. I put a lot of that on myself.”

Schroder followed with a pair of free throws to make it 100-97. Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 24 points, was fouled by Sefolosha as he shot a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, but he made just one of three free throws — missing the last on purpose — to end the suspense. “I’m super disappointed that I missed such an important free throw,” Porzingis said. “I’m probably going to think about it tonight.”

The Hawks had lost three straight and six of seven at home. They are just 7-14 since beginning the season 9-2.

Atlanta didn’t trail again in overtime after Sefolosha’s three made it 89-88 with 3:54 left for the game’s 16th lead change.

“Kyle [Korver] hit so many big shots down the stretch, and Paul [Millsap] got a few big buckets down the stretch,” Sefolosha said. “We just played better offensively, hitting the open man and making shots.”

In the closing seconds of regulation, Rose and Schroder both missed a potential game-winning jumper. It was a chippy, emotional night by both teams, but the most dramatic moment came with 3:08 remaining in the second.