On Monday night, the Atlanta Hawks hit the floor at home for a game against the New York Knicks. Atlanta came into this one winners of four in a row, while New York was looking to push its own streak to three straight victories.
This contest was a back and forth affair throughout, with the Knicks ultimately winning by a score of 108-105 after a CJ McCollum potential game-tying miracle shot was ruled to have come after the buzzer.
The Hawks got off to a lethargic start to this one, at one point relinquishing
an 11-point run in the first quarter to fall behind early. The Knicks started off hot from the field, but their scoring numbers weren’t too dramatic, namely thanks to 11 turnovers in the first half.
For the Hawks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker got the scoring party started, despite the Knicks making a clear effort to deny him the basketball, a strategy that head coach Mike Brown confirmed during his on-court interview.
Meanwhile, Hawks wing Dyson Daniels hit a three-pointer for the third straight game, taking advantage of New York daring him to shoot.
Atlanta ended up finding itself trailing by just one point despite a relatively clunker first quarter effort.
Things wouldn’t get better at the beginning of the second frame, as the Knicks made a surge to go up 43-36, their largest lead of the first half.
During this stretch, Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson dominated Atlanta, as has been the case in previous matchups between the Hawks and Knicks, playing elite defense and crashing the offensive glass on the other end of the floor.
Notably, the first half also saw the Hawks debut of big man Tony Bradley, who the team signed earlier this week to fill the void left by Jock Landale’s ankle injury. Bradley struggled in his first stint in Atlanta, throwing a bad pass that resulted in a turnover and also missing badly on an ill-advised midrange jumper. He didn’t make an appearance in the second half.
However, once Robinson went out of the game, the Hawks quickly responded with a 12-0 run of their own to take a five-point lead, and Alexander-Walker continued to torch an increasingly frustrated Knicks defense with a barrage of tough jumpers and Kyrie Irving-esque finishes around the basket.
The Hawks ended up taking a 57-53 lead into the locker room, holding the visitors to just 21 points in the second quarter thanks to some improved defensive communication, as well as the Knicks cooling off after a hot start from the perimeter.
OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges led the way for the Knicks with 13 points apiece in the first half, while Alexander-Walker led the scoring for Atlanta with 20, and Jalen Johnson added nine points to go along with five rebounds.
The Hawks would continue their momentum into the third quarter, eventually going ahead by as many as ten points.
They reached that lead courtesy of a monster slam from Johnson over multiple Knicks defenders.
New York began to chip into the lead later on in the period, thanks in large part to the play of Karl-Anthony Towns, who began by bullying the smaller Hawks around the basket, before stretching out the range to near half-court to knock down a deep three-pointer.
Mitchell Robinson continued his dominance when he reentered the game, altering and blocking many Hawks shots around the rim, and getting more clean-up opportunities on the offensive end for New York. Jalen Brunson’s three-pointer late in the period gave the Knicks a sudden four-point lead, although Atlanta would get the deficit back to two heading into the fourth and final frame.
Both teams went ice cold to open up the fourth quarter, with the Hawks crashing the offensive glass relentlessly to help offset some of Robinson’s heroics. Atlanta took a three-point lead at the 8:30 mark thanks to a three-pointer from Johnson.
Atlanta ended up taking a five-point advantage when Alexander-Walker knocked down yet another contested three around the midway point of the fourth quarter.
However, the Knicks would come back to tie things at 90 with under six minutes remaining thanks to another putback from Robinson under the basket.
After a couple more minutes of back and forth play, Alexander-Walker buried yet another triple from the wing to give Atlanta a five-point lead following a steal by Johnson.
After a Jalen Brunson and-one, Alexander-Walker stayed scorching hot with a fadeaway triple from the corner.
However, Brunson wasn’t finished, burying a triple after NAW fell down on a borderline illegal screen, and then taking advantage of a CJ McCollum turnover to score in transition and give the Knicks a two-point lead with two minutes remaining.
With the game tied under a minute to go, Brunson knocked down another clutch jumper over McCollum. Atlanta couldn’t answer on the other end, with Johnson missing a contested floater leaning to his left.
OG Anunoby and Brunson knocked down four free throws in the closing seconds, but the Hawks still had a chance, with McCollum launching a shot from three-quarters court. Miraculously, the shot banked in, but the officials ruled that it had come a tenth of a second after the buzzer, and Atlanta’s winning streak came to an end.
This was an ugly offensive game overall for the Hawks, who shot just 40 percent from the field. NAW led all scorers with 36 points on an efficient 12-19 from the field, while Brunson finished the game with 30 of his own, including 17 in the fourth quarter. Any concerns about the Hawks’ ability to contend with bruising centers like Robinson in the playoffs were not exactly alleviated, and Atlanta’s crunch time offense also needs some tuning up over the next week.
The Hawks will look to shake this one off and get back in the win column on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
