Tonight, a shorthanded New York Knicks (23*-11) squad hosted the Atlanta Hawks (17-19). The home team played without Karl-Anthony Towns (illness), Josh Hart (ankle), and Mitchell Robinson (ankle), which was to their detriment, while the visitors played without Trae Young, which was to Atlanta’s advantage. The score was close in the first quarter, but started slipping away in the second when New York managed just 17 points. In the third period, the Knicks trailed by 26, their biggest hole of the season;
and despite a strong start to the fourth and cutting the deficit to nine late in the game, there was too much ground to cover for a comeback. Atlanta wins, 111-99.
Not only did the Knicks match their lowest point-total of the 2025-26 campaign, they also shot 9-of-44 (20%) from deep. Some of that was due to great defense by the Hawks. Some of it was purely stinky shooting. New York won the glass 53 to 49, but shot 36-for-99 overall (36%) and turned the ball over 14 times.
Jalen Brunson led New York with 24 points on 10-for-24 shooting, but had a horrible night from deep (1-for-10). OG Anunoby delivered 19 points and 10 rebounds, going 5-for-13 from the field and 1-of-6 from downtown (his slump continues…). Mikal Bridges chipped in 18 points on 7-for-19 shooting (3-for-11 from three). Rounding out the starters, Ariel Hukporti, filling in for KAT and Mitch, posted eight points, 17 rebounds (seven offensive), four assists, and four blocks in 28 minutes. And Miles McBride added 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting (3-for-10 from three).
A thin bench contributed thin production: Guerschon Yabusele scored eight, Tyler Kolek six, and Jordan Clarkson five. McCullar, Diawara, and Jemison combined for zero points on 0-of-6 shooting.
For the visitors, Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points apiece. Okongwu finished 9-for-16 from the field with 3-for-6 from three, nine rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Alexander-Walker made 9-of-20 overall and 3-of-10 from deep. Jalen Johnson posted a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, plus two steals in 38 minutes; Zaccharie Risacher added 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting; and Dyson Daniels rounded out their starters with 11 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
One for the wastebasket. Get ready for Philly tomorrow night.
First Half
Jalen Brunson set the tempo for New York. The Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month for December organized the offense, created clean looks inside, and kept the Knicks chugging with drives, floaters, and assists to Yabusele, Kolek, and Anunoby. Bridges had a nice dish or two, too:
For Atlanta, Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker provided timely scoring in the quarter. The Hawks held a narrow edge by shooting better from deep (42%). New York countered by scoring 18 points in the paint, dishing 10 dimes, and protecting the rock (just two turnovers). There were seven lead changes, before the Knicks went totally cold, lucky to escape the quarter down 33-30.
Across the end of the first quarter and into the second, our heroes missed 12 straight threes and fell behind by nine. The difference was pressure and execution. New York committed a string of turnovers, including bad passes and an eight-second violation, and Atlanta turned those mistakes into points. Alexander-Walker continued to provide a spark for the visitors, while Johnson was deployed as a cutter and secondary creator.
The Knicks had short scoring bursts, but few and far between. Their offense managed just 17 points in the quarter, and Atlanta closed the half in control, up 60–47.
Overall, the Hawks had outshot New York 51% to 41%, and outscored them in the paint (32–26) and in transition (18–14). New York’s inefficiency and nine turnovers offset a solid rebounding by a Knicks team with a very thin frontcourt. Alexander-Walker led all scorers with 15 points. Brunson had 11.
Second Half
The ugly got uglier. Atlanta blew the game open in the third quarter, going ahead by 26 points. That marked the Knicks largest deficit of the season.
New York still had no antidote for Johnson, Alexander-Walker, and Okongwu. On the occasions when the Knicks did get stops, they failed to capitalize. They continued to miss open looks, left points at the charity stripe, and wasted offensive rebounds. The visitors, meanwhile, punished those misses with quick answers—corner threes, rim runs, and short rolls—turning a manageable deficit into a commanding one by the end of the period.
Behind inspired play from Diawara and Anunoby, the Knicks kicked off the fourth with 11 unanswered points. With a little under nine minutes to play, they were down 94-81. Suddenly, a losing cause seemed perhaps less hopeless.
But not for long. Out of a timeout, Bridges missed a three-pointer that would have reduced the hole to 10; instead, Luke Kennard drained consecutive threes to make it 19.
New York had multiple offensive rebounds, intercepted passes, and drew a charge or two, but their endless barrage of bricks prevented them from gaining ground. At the five-minute mark, Brunson cashed in a McBride assist to make the differential 13. At four minutes, Bridges missed from long (again), but another Hukporti rebound let Mikal mit a middy, cutting the difference to 11. At the three, Hukporti hit two freebies to make it 12. At the two, Bridges hit a corner three (finally) to make it 10. At one-and-a-half minutes, Bridges convereted another bomb to make it nine.
Time and again, New York knocked on the door but lacked the personnel to kick it in. Okongwu made a layup, a foul called on a Brunson three-point attempt was overturned, and that was the ballgame.
Up Next
The 76ers visit the Garden. Rest up, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
