In a packed house at State Farm Arena, the Atlanta Hawks dropped their second loss in the same calendar month, to the New York Knicks, 116-114. This game came down to the final minute, as much of the second-half was a back-and-forth affair, but Jalen Brunson’s dagger-jumper with 19.1 seconds remaining, sealed the victory for New York.
Prior to Brunson’s shot, Trae Young had a chance to tie this game at the free-throw line. He had made four in a row, and the one to tie rimmed out to put the Hawks down one, giving the advantage to the Knicks down the stretch. Young did not have the best shooting night, making his first appearance since the birth of his daughter, but he did a great job of getting his teammates involved with a season-high, 17 assists. Young shot 4-12 from the field overall and missed all four of his three-point attempts for 15 points on the night.
“I missed a free throw to let them go up by one,” said Young, “It is a lot easier to hit a dagger up one than when it is tied. That is on me.”
Dejounte Murray was mostly held in check as well, he finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds on 6-12 shooting, but missed all three of his three-point attempts. The star of the night for the Hawks was Bogdan Bogdanovic, who finished with a team-high 28 points. ‘Bogi’ did have a chance to tie this game up with 8.9 seconds remaining, but did not convert his three-point attempt. Saddiq Bey and Jalen Johnson combined for 34 points and 7 rebounds.
The Knicks had a several 20-point efforts on their side. Julius Randle finished with a game-high 29 points, and added 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Brunson, who again, was clutch down the stretch, poured in 24 points with 8 assists. Immanuel Quickley chipped in 20 points off the bench for the Knicks.
In the last 20 meeting’s between the two clubs, the Hawks are only 8-12 during the regular season against the Knicks, but do hold a 4-1 record in the playoffs.
Atlanta looks to pick up the pieces Friday at home against the Philadelphia 76ers. This is their second go-around for the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, and the Hawks hold a 1-0 record in group play currently. Tip-off for that one is 7:30 p.m. eastern.
