It felt like a case of Deja Vu for the New York Knicks. Similar to their previous game against the Houston Rockets, they played a back-and-forth game throughout and took control late. However, they couldn’t finish the job again as they dropped their second consecutive game Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks by a score of 121-116. New York now falls to 3-4 on the year while Atlanta improves to 4-5.
The Knicks are badly missing size on the interior
The Knicks once again were gashed inside the paint which made the biggest difference for them. They allowed 58 points in the paint and 16 offensive rebounds to the Hawks. The lack of imposing defense allowed the Hawks to maintain a lead for a majority of the game, led by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, who finished his best game as a rookie with 33 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and shot 6-for-8 from three-point range.
The Knicks are badly missing the presence of both Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson. The two big men gave the Knicks a lot of size and great rebounding, and it has been tough sledding for New York without those two on the floor. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 16 rebounds, but they only got two out of Jericho Sims.
Meanwhile, all five starters for the Hawks recorded at least five rebounds. Jalen Johnson was the star on the glass, snagging 15 boards including four offensive on the night.
Jalen Brunson’s struggles continued against the Hawks
The inauspicious start to the season for Jalen Brunson continued Wednesday. Brunson took just three shots in the fourth quarter, making only one of them in the final seconds of the game, merely as window dressing. In his first two seasons with the Knicks, Brunson has been known to be the go-to guy in crunch time to deliver in the clutch, but so far he has not done the same this season.
After the Knicks took a five-point lead with less than three minutes remaining, the offense became stagnant and Brunson was hesitant to take the big shots down the stretch. As a result, the Hawks were able to close the game on a 16-6 run and ultimately slam the door on the Knicks’ comeback effort.
Overall on the night, Brunson scored 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting (4-for-11 from three) and recorded four assists but also committed three turnovers. The team is still trying to develop chemistry with one another in the early part of the season, and it would appear that the growing pains are peaking.
Karl-Anthony Towns continued his strong stretch of play against the Hawks
If there is one positive thing to take away from this game, it is that Towns has been as good as advertised. Along with his 16 rebounds, the seven-footer led the team in scoring with 34 points on 11-for-23 shooting (5-for-9 from three) and recorded three blocks on the defensive end.
Towns has now recorded a double-double in six consecutive games and has been hyper-efficient scoring the basketball. So far this season he is shooting above 50% from both the floor and three-point range, and has been a major catalyst to the team’s overall offensive success.
The Knicks shot the ball well against Atlanta after a cold performance against Houston. New York shot 49% from the floor and 46% from three. Their 22 made three-pointers were tied for the second-most in a single game in franchise history, but their lackadaisical defense cost them a victory to close out the road trip.
With only seven games under their belt, it is not time to press the panic button just yet. However, the Knicks need to turn things around fast and their upcoming schedule is not friendly. They will now head back home for one game against the Milwaukee Bucks before going on the road for a two-game stretch against the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers.