SPORTSTICKER NBA PLAYOFF RECAP (ATLANTA-NEW YORK) NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New York Knicks picked the best possible time for their longest winning streak of the season. Allan Houston scored 19 points and Patrick Ewing added 17 as the red-hot Knicks completed a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks with a 79-66 rout and became the first team in NBA history to advance to the conference finals as a No. 8 seed. The Knicks won Game Five against the top-seeded Miami Heat to close out the first round and then embarrassed the fourth-seeded Hawks, who never hit their stride in the series. New York's five-game postseason run matches the longest in club history -- last accomplished in 1974. "We just have a lot of belief in where we can go," Houston said. "But the key is not just to have that belief. You have got to execute. I think we have done a good job of trying to execute on both ends of the floor. We have had a good game plan and we have stuck to it on a consistent basis." Steve Smith scored 14 points for Atlanta, which shot just over 30 percent for the series. The Hawks missed 16 consecutive shots and went without a basket for well over 11 minutes as the Knicks opened a 77-53 bulge during a stretch that spanned the third and fourth quarters. "I was very frustrated at the way we were losing," Smith said. "When you're a competitor, you don't want to lose. You don't want to get swept. But you've got to be professional about it, calm down a little bit and handle it." New York will face Indiana in the conference finals in a rematch of their 1994 series, which the Knicks won in seven games to advance to the NBA Finals, in which they fell to the Houston Rockets. The teams will be meeting in the postseason for the fifth time this decade, with Game One slated for Market Square Arena on Sunday. Latrell Sprewell capped a stellar series with 11 points off the bench for the Knicks, who posted their first four-game sweep since eliminating the Baltimore Bullets in 1969. After struggling to secure a playoff spot during the lockout-shortened regular season, New York appears to have saved its best for last. "We just really came together," Sprewell said. "For whatever reason, we are really playing together as a team. We've got a five-game streak going and we want to continue that." The Knicks have won seven of their last eight home games, including the regular season. Atlanta dropped to 0-4 on the road in the playoffs and has not won a postseason game outside of Georgia since Game Two of the 1997 Eastern Confernce semifinals against Chicago. Dikembe Mutombo, who guaranteed victory for the Hawks prior to the series, had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Atlanta suffered its first four-game sweep since 1970. "I am shocked," Mutombo said. "As a professional player, I should be shocked. But I am also surprised by our performance. I was not looking for them to play as well as they did. Our defense broke down. It hurt us a lot in this series." An otherwise great day for the Knicks organization was marred slightly when team president and general manager Dave Checketts admitted at an afternoon press conference that he had looked into the possibility of hiring former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson. He denied such reports earlier. Madison Square Garden fans voiced their support for current Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy by chanting his name over and over during the final moments of the game. "That was nice of them," Van Gundy said. "But I'm real happy for the win, for the guys in the locker room. And that was really nice of the fans. You get very few opportunities to get where we are right now and now is the time we have to try and take advantage of this." The 65 points were the least the Knicks have ever allowed in a postseason contest. "We got on a good run and we were shooting the ball much better than they were," Van Gundy added. "We played good defense in this series and they missed a ton of makeable shots. Tonight, we just had a little bit more to play for." Ewing, hampered by a sore Achilles tendon and a strained rib, logged 32 minutes and will be the biggest beneficiary of the five-day layoff. He grabbed nine rebounds to lead New York to a 44-38 edge on the boards. "I'm happy that it's over with," Ewing said. "We get a few days to rest up to prepare for the next series. I am very proud of this ball club. I thought the guys stepped up big." Smith, the Hawks' leading scorer during the regular season, made only 20-of-74 shots during the series. Rookie Roshown McLeod scored 10 points and Grant Long added eight and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which shot 30 percent (23-of-78) and committed 16 turnovers. Kurt Thomas and Marcus Camby collected eight points apiece for New York, which shot 46 percent (30-of-65) and went 17-of-26 from the line. Houston came out on fire in the first quarter, scoring 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting to lead New York to a 25-18 lead. Sprewell, who averaged 26.3 points over the first three games, hit a pair of free throws to open the second quarter and New York increased the bulge to 29-18 on Camby's two free throws with 10:06 left in the half. "They shoot a lot of long shots," Sprewell added. "We got a lot of rebounds because of that. We've got a lot of quick guys on the perimeter that can track down those loose balls and when we do that, we can get out in the open court and make things happen." Ewing and Houston combined to hit 9-of-17 shots from the floor in the first half as New York took a 48-37 lead at the break. Ewing, Thomas and Houston hit consecutive jumpers to give the Knicks a 56-40 bulge with 7:37 left in the third quarter. Mookie Blaylock's 17-footer with 5:40 remaining cut the deficit to 58-44 and was the last basket the Hawks would make until midway through the fourth period. Houston made a 23-foot jumper to cap an 11-3 run to start the final quarter, stretching New York's lead to 77-53 with 7:11 to play. Smith responded with a nine-footer to end Atlanta's drought. "Spre(well), Allan, Marcus, (Chris) Dudley -- the last game --, Larry (Johnson), you know, the whole team showed a lot of character and we came together and we are playing extremely well going into the Eastern Conference finals," Ewing added.  