A game that looked to be a blowout had to be won on a game-winner for the New York Knicks, but they held on and prevented a horrific collapse against the Atlanta Hawks with a 149-148 win in overtime. The Knicks had into the All-Star break with a 36-18 record while the Hawks will sit at 26-29 for the break.
Jalen Brunson saved the Knicks
The Hawks never led in this game until overtime, and the Knicks nearly committed an epic collapse late in the fourth quarter. With New York up by six with 10 seconds left, the game appeared to be over.
However, Georges Niang (21 points) knocked down three to cut the deficit to three, and then Karl-Anthony Towns turned the ball over on the inbounds, and Dyson Daniels was fouled immediately. After he made the first free throw, he missed the second, but Atlanta grabbed the offensive rebound and Trae Young was fouled with 2.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 137.
The sequence was demoralizing for New York, and within a minute of overtime, they found themselves trailing by five. But then, Jalen Brunson kicked things into high gear and came to the rescue for New York. He scored six points in the overtime period including what would ultimately be the game-winning mid-range jump shot over Daniels.
He finished the night with 36 points, eight assists, and three rebounds while shooting 13-for-21 from the floor and 3-for-7 from three. Brunson showed once again why he named the team captain with the way he took over the game late, and his heroics catapulted them to a win when they seemed to be down in the mud.
Karl-Anthony Towns put in another excellent performance for the Knicks
Aside from the costly inbounds turnover that forced overtime, Towns was brilliant against the Hawks and continued his MVP-level season. He recorded 44 points and 10 rebounds and shot 7-for-10 from three.
Towns has now recorded 40 or more points in back-to-back games, and he is just the fifth player in Knicks history to accomplish such a feat. The only other players in franchise history to do so are Brunson, Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, and Carmelo Anthony.
Since injuring his thumb last month, Towns had not seemed to be the same dominant big that he had been for most of the season. However, it seems like he is accustomed to playing with it as he has found his shooting touch once again and is making an all-around impact offensively.
The Knicks defense needs a lot of work
Despite the win, the Knicks played one of their worst defensive performances of the season. The 148 points scored by Atlanta is the most they have allowed in a game this season, and New York did not have an answer for Trae Young in the second half.
Young finished the night with 38 points and 19 assists, and 31 of those points came in the second half plus overtime. New York was unable to stop Young in the pick-and-roll, which led to easy baskets for Young and his Hawks teammates.
Six different Hawks players scored in double figures, fine of which scored 20 or more points. Overall, the Knicks allowed them to shoot 50% from the field and 36.8% from three, which helped them claw back from an 18-point deficit. The Knicks’ uncharacteristically poor ball control (17 turnovers) also allowed Atlanta to get out in transition, leading to more defensive lapses from New York.
Overview
The Knicks avoid a disastrous collapse and head into the All-Star break with a gutsy win over the Hawks. The next stop for the Knicks’ All-Stars will be San Francisco, where Brunson will take part in the three-point contest on Saturday and he and Towns will participate in the All-Star Game on Sunday.