ATLANTA — Joe Johnson scored 34 points and the Atlanta Hawks turned back New York's late comeback to beat the Knicks 111-102 on Friday night.

Forward Marvin Williams made his first start since Dec. 29, giving the Hawks their original starting five for the first time in almost a month, but he may soon face an NBA suspension.

With 43.7 seconds remaining, Williams pushed New York's Shawne Williams in the back, starting a brief altercation as each player threw punches.

The Hawks led by 24 points in the third quarter before surviving a late scare.

Amare Stoudemire led the Knicks with 27 points, including a basket to cut Atlanta's lead to 102-97 with 4:05 remaining. Josh Smith, who had 24 points, answered with a 3-pointer from the corner for Atlanta.

Raymond Felton had 21 points and 13 assists for the Knicks. Landry Fields added 15 points.

Al Horford had 19 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for Atlanta.

The altercation between Marvin Williams and Shawne Williams came shortly after Horford blocked a shot attempt by Stoudemire. The Williamses were quickly separated and each was ejected.

Marvin Williams was charged with a technical and each player was called for a fighting foul following a video review by officials.

Stoudemire had only three rebounds as the Hawks took a 46-34 advantage on the boards.

The Knicks were handed their fifth straight road loss, a day after delivering one of their best defensive efforts in a 93-88 home win over Miami on Thursday.

New York couldn't maintain momentum from the win over the Heat. The Hawks built an early lead by making 54.5 percent of their shots from the field in the first half.

The Hawks, who were held to 59 points in a loss to New Orleans in their last home game, surpassed that total in the first half, leading 60-43 at intermission.

Smith helped Atlanta push the lead to double figures with a left-handed alley-oop jam on a pass from Johnson. Smith, soaring above the rim, caught the pass with his left hand and followed through in one motion for the jam over Danilo Gallinari for a 45-33 lead.

Smith's highlights for the night also included a third-quarter blocked shot that sent Gallinari crashing to the floor.

The Hawks stretched the lead to 24 points in the third period. Stoudemire had eight straight points late in the period as the Knicks launched a comeback that carried over into the final period.

A running layup by Toney Douglas cut Atlanta's lead to 10 points at 93-83. Following an Atlanta timeout, Jamal Crawford scored when his jumper bounced high off the rim and through the net.

Marvin Williams played only 13 minutes in a backup role on Wednesday at Milwaukee in his return after missing 11 games with a lower back contusion.

NOTES: F Wilson Chandler (sore left calf) did not play and is listed as day to day. Shawne Williams replaced Chandler and had 12 points and 11 rebounds in only his second start of the season. ... Atlanta signed G-F Damien Wilkins for the remainder of the season. ... X-rays were negative on Hawks PG Mike Bibby's swollen left thumb. He played without a wrap or brace on the thumb. ... Singer and actress Queen Latifah attended the game as part of a crowd of 19,069, Atlanta's second sellout of the season.