New York Knicks lose to the Atlanta Hawks 121-116: Crushed in the paint

The New York Knicks fumbled a five-point lead in the fourth quarter, losing to the Atlanta Hawks 121 to 116.

New York started slow, with Atlanta setting a physical tone early by forcing turnovers and grabbing offensive boards. But the Knicks kept things close thanks to three-point shooting.

The Knicks’ defense often fell short. The Hawks continually found open looks, often right at the rim. Yet every time Atlanta pressed their advantage, the Knicks made a run to close the gap.

New York took a five-point lead late but failed to secure victory, ceding a final Hawks run in crunch time.

This team is still new, and they haven’t figured out how to close games. They’ve had opportunities in each of the past two games, but lost both.

Let’s look at the standouts.

Notable Performances

One star rises while another struggles

Karl-Anthony Towns: 34 PTS (11/23 FG, 5/9 3PT, 7/7 FT), 1 AST, 16 REB, 1 STL, 3 BLK, 3 TO in 38 mins

The Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns to step up when teams shut down Jalen Brunson. Towns showed as much when he abused a match-up with Clint Capela. 

Towns pulled Capela away from the basket and abused cross-match-ups when Capela switched against screens. 

But despite blocking three shots, Towns failed to protect the rim adequately. He dropped too far, too often, and watched players shoot at the rim.

So Towns played well, but his defense kept him from having a true star performance.

Jalen Brunson: 21 PTS (8/18 FG, 4/11 3PT, 1/2 FT), 4 AST, 3 REB, 3 TO in 37 mins

The struggles for Jalen Brunson continued, with three more turnovers and a poor shooting night. Brunson seems to be fishing for whistles when players bump him on drives, but the refs haven’t called that contact all season.

Brunson’s best moments came off the ball. Whether he caught the ball with space to shoot or coming off screens to attack downhill, Brunson got separation with ease while other players handled the rock.

Brunson hasn’t found comfort with this new team yet. But I think it’s a matter of time before he does now. This was a poor performance by Brunson’s standards, but I’m confident he’ll adjust.

Key role player contributions

Miles McBride: 16 PTS (5/9 FG, 4/6 3PT, 2/2 FT), 7 AST, 4 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3 TO in 28 mins

Deuce McBride shot lights out against Atlanta, bouncing back from a poor performance in Houston. 

McBride’s offense never felt forced. He shot when open and created opportunities for teammates with his touches. He played a perfect combo-guard role, with defense to go with his offense.

Josh Hart: 14 PTS (6/9 FG, 2/4 3PT), 8 AST, 8 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3 TO in 38 mins

It was a strange night for Josh Hart. He started the game by daring Zaccharie Risacher to shoot, leaving the neophyte wide open. Risacher responded by knocking down six three-pointers en route to a 33-point performance.

But Hart also flirted with a triple-double thanks to transition attacks off his many rebounds. He made things happen, but not always on the positive side. In a close fourth quarter, Hart picked up a terrible technical foul.

Making the most of an opportunity and the least

Tyler Kolek: 6 PTS (2/2 FG, 2/2 3PT), 1 AST, 1 TO in 9 mins

The second unit’s offense hummed through their second-quarter minutes, and Tyler Kolek played a key role. He hit a pair of three-pointers while working in tandem with Deuce McBride.

Kolek gave up a bad backdoor cut in the second half and got a quick hook. But his quick chemistry with the second unit is undeniable.

Jericho Sims: 0 PTS (0/0 FG), 2 REB, 1 STL in 10 mins

There’s not enough production from Jericho Sims off the bench. He continually mistimed his leaps for rebounds and failed to challenge shooters at the rim.

Sims got this shot because of Precious Achiuwa’s injury, but he’s failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

Other Notes

• Mikal Bridges played well, mainly by containing Trae Young for most of the action. But he felt under-utilized on offense, particularly after consistently finding success by posting Young up.
  

• OG Anunoby started the night strong, hitting three deep jumpers and scoring fifteen points. But his impact faded late, and he gave up a corner three late.
  

• I wonder if giving Brunson a quicker break in the first quarter and running him with the second unit early would be a solution to his recent struggles. He can’t find a rhythm lately, but there are opportunities to attack with the bench.

Closing Thoughts

This is another tough loss, but it comes at the tail end of an early-season road trip. 

The Knicks started slow, with Karl-Anthony Towns admitting that he was sluggish to start the game. There are never excuses for lackluster play, but early in the season, at the end of a road trip…it’s not shocking.

This team has work to do, building chemistry and getting into shape to play at Tom Thibodeau’s pace. It’s good to see that the players know that, and I expect improvements to come.

The Bucks are next, desperate for a win. We’ll see how that goes and discuss it here. See you next time, Knicks fam!