Lee, who was called out specifically by Hornacek at halftime, scored nine early points in the quarter-long spurt to spark the onslaught, while Hardaway registered 12 of his career-high 38 points in the session.
?We came in here, we watched film and coach kind of got on me,? Lee said, adding that Hornacek?s words were ?a little explicit.?
?I really didn?t like what was being said. That?s what you?re supposed to do as a player. You?re supposed to respond,? Lee continued. ?And not only did I respond, but everybody on the team was out there and we played great defense in the second half. I don?t think I can repeat what (Hornacek) said, to the media. But we exchanged words and we went from there, responded and we got the win.?
?We knew that was the first half, there were moments we played good but for the most part, that wasn?t us again,? Porzingis said.
?At halftime, we had some stronger words for each other and we talked about stuff that we wanted to do better and we came out in the second half and played like a different team.?
The Knicks, who planned to spend Thanksgiving dinner at the Atlanta-area home of veteran point guard Jarrett Jack, have shown plenty of differences to start the first season since Jackson was fired, the triangle was scrapped and Carmelo Anthony was traded to Oklahoma City.
As Lee noted, ?Last year we were running a different system, a little slower pace, but this year is more up and down.?
Adding Hardaway to that system, on what fully seemed like an ill-advised deal a short time ago, has turned out to be a strong fit and has been as important as any of the changes.
The Hawks, who were offering $48 million over the same timeframe, didn?t match the Knicks? four-year, $71 million offer sheet for the restricted free agent in July.
?I think there was that concern. Tim had started to turn the corner in terms of being a great player. He finished the last half of the season having a very good second half, and we knew that was just kind of the beginning,? Hornacek said of Hardaway, the Knicks? first-round pick in 2013. ?So I don?t think there was any concern about bringing him back. (Knicks president) Steve Mills did a great job of figuring out how we could get him and what it might take. There was concern that Atlanta might match it, so when they didn?t, we were pretty happy.?
As is Hardaway, who noted: ?I?m thankful to be back here. It?s a wonderful opportunity for me. I?m happy, I?m excited. This group loves one another. You can see out there on the floor we?re playing for one another. The passion is there. Like I said, we?re continuing to look for our identity. That?s what I love about this team.?