NEW YORK -- Joakim Noahs illness made it an unsettling morning for the Knicks backup centers. Carmelo Anthony made sure it was a smooth afternoon.Anthony matched his season high with 31 points and New York beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-94 on Sunday for its fourth straight home victory.Anthony has never been a morning person, but he wanted to come out aggressively Sunday after the Knicks followed a loss Thursday in Washington with a lengthy meeting Saturday featuring players, coaches and even team president Phil Jackson.Some nights like today calls for me to get it going early, Anthony said. My mindset was just to come out and get it going early.Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who led most of the way against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.Dwight Howard had 18 points and 18 rebounds, but point guard Dennis Schroder missed all eight shots as the Hawks dropped their second straight following a six-game winning streak.I feel like we didnt play well enough on the road. You have to bring a better game but give the New York Knicks credit, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. Carmelo played a heck of a game, hit a lot of tough shots.The Knicks didnt have Noah to defend Howard after doctors sent him home because of an illness. Kyle OQuinn was told during pregame he would start, and rookie Marshall Plumlee had to rush into the city by train and then taxi after he received a morning phone call and was told he would be called up from Westchester of the NBA Development League to make his NBA debut.Opportunity knocked and we were all ready as a team defensively, OQuinn said.Howard bounced back nicely after he was ejected for a flagrant foul Friday in the Hawks 100-96 loss in Charlotte, while Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 19 points and Kyle Korver scored 17.Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee both scored 14 points and OQuinn had eight points and eight rebounds.The Knicks led by two with 7 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter before Anthonys jumper started them on a 12-0 burst. Willy Hernangomezs three-point play extended New Yorks lead to 65-51.Atlanta never made a serious dent in the lead, as the Knicks repeatedly hit 3-pointers every time it seemed the Hawks were building momentum.Anthony banked in a long jumper from the right side to end the first quarter, giving the Knicks a 24-20 lead that they expanded to 46-41 at halftime.TIP-INSHawks: Howard had his 10th double-double of the season by halftime. ... Thabo Sefolosha was active after missing the last two games with a sprained left knee but didnt play.Knicks: Plumlee was scoreless in 5 1/2 minutes after getting out of his cab in traffic and sprinting to the arena. When I got here they said, `Hey, do you need a warm up? he said. I said, `No, Im already warm. I ran here. ... The Knicks beat the Hawks for the third straight time.SCHRODERS STRUGGLESSchroder finished with one point and three assists, sitting out the entire fourth quarter.Personally didnt feel good, he said. I didnt hit my shots. I didnt play like I did before but I got to do a better job of being ready to prepare myself.HOWARDS HACKHoward was tossed Friday when he elbowed Cody Zeller midway through the fourth quarter. Budenholzer said he talked to Howard about the play but wants him to keep providing toughness. Hopefully he can find ways to be physical, let the other team feel him but still do it within kind of the confines of whats appropriate, Budenholzer said. I think to be ejected was probably the right thing and he knows it, but he also knows he wants to continue to play physical and be a presence on the boards.UP NEXTHawks: Host New Orleans on Tuesday. Atlanta is 6-1 at home.Knicks: Host Portland on Tuesday, trying to snap a four-game home losing streak to the Trail Blazers.Alonzo Mourning Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Bismack Biyombo Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Frank-Kaminsky-Hornets-Jersey/ . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Muggsy Bogues Hornets Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Cody Zeller Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Alex Cobb likes pitching against top teams, such as the New York Yankees. Cobb took a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning and led the Tampa Bay Rays to an 8-3 win Sunday that extended CC Sabathias winless streak to five, one short of his career high. "These big games, I love to have them," Cobb said. "They really make me focus in a lot more." Cobb (6-2) lost his shutout bid when Brett Gardner homered leading off the ninth and he wound up allowing two runs and five hits in 8 1-3 innings with eight strikeouts. "The young man knows how to pitch," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Hes got one of the best changes, split -change, whatever you want to call it in the game." Cesar Ramos followed Cobb and walked his first two batters and allowed David Adams two-run double. Joel Peralta struck out Ichiro Suzuki and Jayson Nix. Nix reached on an infield single in the third, when replays showed he appeared to be out. He was New Yorks only runner until Robinson Cano grounded a single to centre leading off the seventh. Cobb allowed three hits over 8 1-3 innings in a 3-0 victory over Andy Pettitte on April 24. "He was wonderful," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "He was that good." Sabathia (4-4) dropped to 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA since he beat Toronto on April 27. He allowed seven runs and seven hits in seven innings and is 10-11 in 31 starts against the Rays, including a 3-10 mark since joining the Yankees. His overall ERA is 3.96. "Im hurting the team," Sabathia said. "Not being able to make pitches with two strikes, fastball command. I feel fine. Its just one of those things where I feel like the ball is coming out pretty good, but Im just not making pitches." Sabathias career-high streak for consecutive winless starts is six, from July 3-Aug. 1, 2002, and March 31-Aprril 27, 2003, according to STATS.dddddddddddd "Hes missing some pitches and hes not getting away with it," Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "Every mistake he made, they hit it. Early in the season, he had the same velocity and pitched really well. He was just executing pitches better." Sean Rodriguez and James Loney hit two-run homers for the Rays. "You put up eight runs against the Yankees, definitely something good, but the W is all that matters," Rodriguez said. New York, which won the first two games of the series, came up short in the bid for its first sweep of three or more games at Tropicana Field since Sept. 13-15, 2005. Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead in the second after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, Adams made a high throw to second when he tried for a forceout on Yunel Escobars grounder to third and Escobar beat first baseman Lyle Overbays throw to second on Loneys grounder, a play in which Sabathia failed to cover first. Jose Lobaton hit a broken-bat RBI single to centre and Sam Fuld followed with a sacrifice fly. Rodriguez homered in the third for a 4-0 lead. His only other home run this year was April 24 off Pettitte. Escobar hit an RBI double in the sixth and scored on Loneys homer. Desmond Jennings added an eighth inning RBI double. NOTES: Sabathia is 3-7 in 16 starts at Tropicana Field, which is his lowest winning percentage in any current major league ballpark. ... The Yankees are at the New York Mets on Monday, which marks the start of closer Mariano Riveras final regular season Subway Series. "Weve played a lot of good games at our place and good games at their place," said Rivera, who says he is retiring after the season. ... Tampa Bay RHP Jake Odorizzi (0-0) will make his second start in place of injured Cy Young Award winner David Price (left triceps strain) Monday against Miami. ' ' '