New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102: Starting the series strong

The New York Knicks started the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with a resounding 113-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The game was competitive for a half before the Knicks pulled away over the final two quarters.

The Knicks looked rusty early. The team struggled with bad passes that led to turnovers on offense and missed rotations on defense. But Jalen Brunson carried the offense through the first quarter, while Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby took turns helping with scoring.

The Hawks kept pace with New York throughout a frenetically paced first half. But the Knicks turned up their defense in the second half. New York held Atlanta to 19 points in the third quarter and built a double-digit lead for most of the fourth quarter. The Hawks made a late run to close the margins, but it was already too late.

The Knicks have a 1-0 series lead, and the ball’s in their court. Let’s look at each player’s success.

The Captain set the tone for this game with 19 PTS in the first quarter on 8/11 from the field. Brunson beat the Hawks’ defense off the ball, then capitalized anytime he got a defender in isolation. He slowed down after his torrid first quarter, but never stopped making impact plays.

Brunson’s efficiency only dipped when the Knicks moved into clock-kill format in the fourth. He dribbled out the shot clock and forced tough shots that weren’t falling. Otherwise, he had an impressive night of efficient play and ample sharing of the rock.

Karl-Anthony Towns started the night 1/6 from the field with four turnovers. Suffice to say, he looked rusty. His lack of shots early didn’t come from a lack of touches. He was the offensive hub, but all too often his passes were a little off target.

But as the game wore on and KAT got into the flow, he took over more and more.

Towns was New York’s best player in the fourth quarter, putting the game out of reach before Jalen Brunson even came off the bench.

We’re used to Karl-Anthony Towns leading the second unit at the start of the second and fourth quarters. But OG Anunoby took that role against Atlanta and ran with it. Anunoby barely touched the ball until the second unit began checking in, but OG quickly got to work after.

The Hawks’ extra attention on Towns left Anunoby windows to make quick cuts to the basket for easy buckets. But when the second unit needed, OG made tough moves and hit contested jumpers.

In only 11 minutes, Jordan Clarkson led the second unit’s scorers with quick, efficient buckets. He was opportunistic about strikes to the baskets and gave New York an additional ball-handler when starters rested.

The rest of the bench shot 4/13 from the field, so Clarkson’s contributions were sorely needed.

Before the rest of the Knicks got going, Mikal Bridges provided a tertiary scoring punch to Jalen Brunson’s. Bridges played aggressively early, pouring in seven first-quarter points. He fell back into a spacing role once other players got into rhythm.

But the lack of pressure to create offense left Bridges with ample energy to have a defensive impact for his entire 31 minutes of action. He held Nickeil Alexander-Walker to an inefficient 17 points.

It took Josh Hart a quarter to get into the flow of things. He started the game with shaky hands and rushed decisions. But he settled in without ever slowing his pace. So, Hart began to beat everyone to loose balls, while playmaking at both ends.

Jalen Johnson is a tough assignment for anyone, but Hart gave the rising star a tough night. Hart crowded the young Hawk, never letting Johnson handle the ball comfortably.

It felt like the media gaslit Knicks fans this past week. Too many pundits had the Hawks as their pick to get an upset. We even saw the “can’t win if Jalen Brunson is your best player” argument rehashed.

That talk tends to vanish after the first week or two of the playoffs. Jalen Brunson has been one of the best playoff performers in the NBA since becoming a New York Knick, and the team has been dangerous in every postseason since he arrived. This first game was a reminder of what the league should already know.

The Knicks are for real! I’ll see you next time, Knicks fam!