ATLANTA — One game after being demoted to the Knicks bench because of his offensive malaise, Landry Fields discovered his 3-point shot yesterday.
It cannot be overstated how important a hot-shooting Fields could be as he remains the Knicks’ biggest playoff X-factor.
Fields hit his first seven shots, finished 7-of-8 and made all three of his 3-pointers. Fields has shot 24 percent from 3-point land this season.
Back at starting shooting guard, Fields finished with 18 points, four rebounds and no turnovers in the Knicks’ 113-112 shootout win over the Hawks.
“I’m not going to get satisfied or complacent,’’ Fields said. “I was really comfortable today. It’s a constant thing working on my shot and improving my game.’’
In fact, Fields has been working with assistant general manager Allan Houston on his oft-wayward 3-pointer and mojo. Houston is probably the greatest pure shooter in Knicks’ history.
“It’s moreso being ready and confident,’’ Fields said. “There was … mechanical stuff we worked on. But [he wants me] to remain aggressive. You can’t make shots if you don’t take them.’’
One person familiar with the situation said Fields did a lot of weight-lifting during the lockout and that could have affected his shooting mechanics.
Fields was the odd man out Friday. When Amar’e Stoudemire returned, Fields got bumped to the bench, as interim head coach Mike Woodson elected to stick with rookie Iman Shumpert for his defense. Fields missed his first six field goals and first three free throws in Cleveland, but came on in the fourth quarter to make his last four shots.
Fields wasn’t producing enough on the offensive end to justify keeping him in the starting lineup. Yesterday, with Tyson Chandler resting, Woodson tossed Fields back into the starting mix by sliding Stoudemire to center.
Now Woodson has a decision to make Wednesday when Chandler returns.
“It’s not challenging, it doesn’t matter if I’m coming off the bench or starting,’’ said Fields, who had an anemic playoff last spring vs. Boston.
* Baron Davis, returning after a two-game absence to recover from the stomach flu, had a nifty 13-point, 10-assist outing, finding his 3-point shot by making 3-of-4. Davis got a flagrant foul in the first half when he pulled down Jeff Teague by the jersey after the Hawks’ point guard stripped him.
“BD in second half, he got mad on the basketball court,’’ Carmelo Anthony said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen him get mad in a long time. He just picked it up, ran the team and made shots and attacked defensively and offensively.’’
* Jared Jeffries (sore knee) has been shut down until the playoffs.