The Knicks hung on to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 128-125 on Saturday night at State Farm Arena.
Here are the takeaways…
– The Knicks were without Josh Hart in this one, and he’s expected miss the three-game road trip with the ankle sprain he suffered in the Christmas Day win, so rookie Mohamed Diawara received the second start of his NBA career.
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– Mike Brown dipped even further into his bench early on, turning to Kevin McCullar Jr. as his first reserve, and the youngster made an immediate impact with four rebounds (three offensive) and an assist over his first five minutes of action.
– New York dominated the boards as a team in the opening quarter, bringing in 20 rebounds to Atlanta’s nine. The Knicks’ offense found their footing after a bit of a slow start and they were able to open a five-point advantage on Jalen Brunson‘s three with two seconds left in a back-and-forth first.
– The Hawks evened things up early in the second, but a 12-4 Knicks run helped them push the lead back up to eight. The orange and blue faithful in attendance went crazy as Tyler Kolek completed a pretty and-one, then Karl-Anthony Towns connected with Mikal Bridges on a behind-the-head pass.
Towns picked up where he left off in the last meeting with Atlanta, with 16 points and seven boards in his first 13 minutes.
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– McCullar took advantage of extended minutes off the bench with the lead pushed to double-digits. The 24-year-old knocked down a pair of threes and provided a spark with his hustle plays on both ends of the court, finishing a terrific first half with six points and six rebounds.
– Jalen Brunson started out 1-of-4 from three but knocked down his first two coming out of the third. The captain connected with a driving Mikal Bridges for a fastbreak slam to help extend the lead out to 16 minutes into the second half. New York was mad at the rims on Saturday, throwing down some monstrous jams.
Atlanta refused to go away, and they were able to close the gap all the way back down to nine in the dying minutes of the third. Brunson contributed 10 points in the frame and McCullar chipped in seven more, helping New York weather the storm.
– Towns appeared to settle the Knicks back into a groove with eight consecutive points (and a Kolek three celebration) early in the fourth, but the Hawks continued battling. Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s fifth three of the night made it a one possession ballgame with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.
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Atlanta jumped back in front on Onyeka Okongwu‘s three minutes later, but Brunson responded as he always does with a pair of clutch buckets. The captain committed a costly turnover just one possession later, though, allowing the Hawks to break the other way and regain the lead.
After a Brunson miss on the other end, OG Anunoby grabbed a huge board and knocked down a pair of free throws. Anunoby then made the defensive play of the game, coming up with a huge steal and drilling two more free throw to help the Knicks hang on for the thrilling victory.
– Anunoby finished with 15 points, including 7-for-7 from the line, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
– Towns led the way with 36 points and 16 boards, Brunson had 34 points, Bridges 14 and eight assists, and McCullar chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds in arguably the most impressive performance of his young NBA career.
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Game MVP: Kevin McCullar Jr.
The youngster provided the spark off the bench in arguably his most impressive NBA action.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks continue their road trip with a meeting with the Pelicans on Monday at 8:00 p.m.
