SPORTSTICKER NBA PLAYOFF RECAP (NEW YORK-ATLANTA) ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Only half of the New York Knicks' dynamic scoring duo showed up tonight. But that was more than enough for them to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Latrell Sprewell scored 31 points for the second straight game and capped a decisive run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to help compensate for Allan Houston's poor performance and lift the Knicks to a 77-70 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Sprewell and Houston combined for 65 points in Tuesday's 100-92 win, but Houston scored only two points on 1-of-8 shooting tonight. With Patrick Ewing continuing to limp his way through a variety of injuries, Sprewell took control. He made 8-of-16 shots from the field and 15-of-19 from the line to lead New York to its fourth win in five playoff road games. "I play well here for whatever reason," said Sprewell, who is averaging 27.1 points in his last four visits to the Georgia Dome. "The thing that I try to do when I come in is just play my game and try to limit the mistakes. I feel that if I do that, just go out and play and not worry about what's really happening, I'll be really successful." "We got a win, that's all that matters," Houston added. "I wasn't hitting shots so I was doing whatever I could to do something out there." Trailing 58-54 with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter, the Knicks went on a 21-4 run, capped by Sprewell's three-point play with 5:45 left that made it 69-58. The Hawks climbed back into contention with a quick 5-0 burst, but Sprewell made a pair of free throws and Ewing hit a jumper over Dikembe Mutombo with 3:08 to play, stretching the lead back to 73-63. After a surprising offensive explosion by both teams in Game One, the clubs reverted to the defensive mode that led to an average of less than 155 combined points in three regular-season meetings. Ewing scored 12 points and Marcus Camby added 11 and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who held Atlanta to 30 percent (24-of-81) from the floor. Ewing, hampered by an aching Achilles tendon and a strained rib, logged 37 minutes. "It's real big (being up 2-0)," Camby said. "We have home-court advantage now. We can come out with our minds right and hopefully get Game Three. They are going to regroup and make adjustments. We expect Game Three to be their best effort." "The shooting percentage killed us," Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens said. "We had some shots right under the basket that we didn't put away. When you shoot like that, it makes it very difficult to win." Mookie Blaylock collected 17 points for Atlanta, which got only 10 points on 1-of-8 shooting out of Chris Crawford after the 6-9 forward earned a start with his 26-point effort in Game One. Games Three and Four are Sunday and Monday at Madison Square Garden. Larry Johnson had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who shot 38 percent (26-of-67) and scored 20 points off 19 turnovers. Ed Gray collected 13 points off the bench and Mutombo added eight and 17 rebounds for the Hawks, who held a 49-46 advantage on the boards. Houston's lone basket of the game, a 17-foot jumper with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter, forged a 48-48 tie. "(Houston) just had one of those nights," New York coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He kept missing, turned it over. It wasn't one of his best nights. The main thing is to find a way to get that win." Blaylock sank a 19-footer and Steve Smith made a pair from the line to put the Hawks ahead, 52-48. Smith, who led Atlanta with an 18.7-point average during the season, managed only nine tonight on 2-of-16 shooting thanks to stellar defense by Houston and Johnson. "I prefer a game like tonight," Johnson said. "Every crucial inch on the floor is fought for. Buckets are hard to come by. I like that." "There's only one way (to go) -- up," Smith added. "We can shoot better than this. You have to let it go and know it's a seven-game series and look at the tape and see what you did wrong. Both teams played defense. You see the score, it's pretty much a Knicks-Atlanta game. Unfortunately for us, they played a little bit better." Ewing hit a 13-footer, Johnson made a layup and Sprewell added a thunderous dunk off a turnover by Smith to put New York in front for good, 54-52, entering the fourth quarter. Camby made a layup to start the final period but Gray responded with a 10-footer from the right sideline to cut the margin to 56-54 with 11:23 left. Gray hit a 13-footer and a layup as Atlanta stayed within 62-58 with 7:47 to play before New York pulled away for good. Camby dunked and Sprewell hit two free throws to stretch the lead to 66-58. Grant Long missed a 3-pointer on Atlanta's ensuing trip and Sprewell drew a foul on Gray while burying a 12-foot turnaround on the other end. After Sprewell made the free throw, the Knicks had a 69-58 cushion and the knowledge they could close out the Hawks at home. The Hawks, who have never reached the conference finals, are 0-14 when facing an 0-2 postseason deficit. The Knicks are 18-2 in series when they win the first two games. "We know this series is far from over," Van Gundy added. "They are going to give us their best game of the year on Sunday and we have to be ready for them." Atlanta sprinted to a 13-2 lead. Blaylock made a pair of jumpers and a layup to make it 6-0 as the Georgia Dome crowd went into a frenzy. Crawford's free throws with 6:54 remaining capped the spurt, but the Knicks were quick to answer. Sprewell and Ewing scored four points apiece during an 11-1 run, pulling the Knicks within 14-13 with 3:26 left in the opening quarter and bringing the New York contingent of fans to its feet. "The biggest thing is that we are playing very confident," Sprewell said. "We're playing together as a team and that's what we want to do." The teams spent the rest of the half trading missed shots and turnovers with far more frequency than baskets. New York took a 38-36 halftime lead on Sprewell's free throws with five seconds left. "We're professionals," Wilkens added. "Yeah, we're down two, but they've got to win four games. The thing is, I still believe we can win. We've been a good road team all year. We just have to come out, execute, make shots."  