Knicks dominate Atlanta Hawks; will Jalen Brunson play Sunday?
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns attempts a basket past Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu during the first half of an NBA game Saturday in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Erik Rank
ATLANTA — Jalen Brunson went through his pregame workout and then retreated within State Farm Arena to work on his conditioning on an exercise bicycle. Mitchell Robinson was near him working, too, and like Brunson, was held out of the lineup.
The mystery of the status of those two, both of whom are expected to be in the lineup when the Knicks host Phoenix on Sunday night, was at least a moment of intrigue. The only real moment of drama the rest of Saturday afternoon came when Karl-Anthony Towns went to the locker room after jamming a finger on his left hand and returned shortly afterward to the bench and then to the lineup.
The game was settled shortly after it began as the shorthanded Knicks dominated the Hawks, taking a 34-point lead in a 121-105 win.
As the Knicks have made their way toward the finish of the regular season and the postseason, the more pressing issue is to make sure that Brunson, Towns and their teammates are healthy when the playoffs begin.
That has meant exercising caution with the banged-up players, giving them extra time as needed down the stretch to rest and rehab. However, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart said Friday that they don’t want to take time off through the final stage of the season.
“I don’t know when guys come back, but I know any team would be very much improved with Deuce McBride and Jalen Brunson,” said Towns, who had 30 points and 11 rebounds.
“We’re going to do everything we can because like I said before to y’all, the team and where we’re at is farther along when we’re back to integrating them.”
The Knicks (49-28) won’t put their rotation pieces in bubble wrap for the final five games, but they wouldn’t be blamed if they proceeded with caution after the injury issues that doomed their season a year ago, when injuries struck Julius Randle, Robinson, Anunoby, Hart and Brunson.
What might have been expected was giving the rotation players an early breather after the Knicks took a 108-80 lead into the fourth quarter.
But Tom Thibodeau brought Hart and Anunoby, who had another solid offensive performance with 24 points, back into the game with 6:04 to play after Mikal Bridges fouled Trae Young with the Knicks up by 27.
That ended the game for Towns and Bridges, who finished with 20 points. Hart exited with 1:33 to play, one rebound short of a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Asked if Hart’s numbers go into his decision whether to leave him on the floor or not, Thibodeau said: “Well, yeah, it does. He had a terrific game. And obviously, for me, that’s a no-win situation because if I leave him in, he’s going to be upset about that. And if I take him out, he’s going to be upset about that. So I said, ‘Ah, what the hell? I’ll take him out.’ ”
“I wanted to stay in to get the last one [rebound], but I wasn’t playing the game the right way,” Hart said. “I was trying to play for that. I didn’t really deserve it, and that’s probably why I didn’t get it. I was playing the game the wrong way at that point, so it is what it is.”
Thibodeau would not commit to the return of Brunson on Sunday, but after coming through Friday’s practice with no problems, all indications are that he will return after missing 15 games.
“When he’s ready to go,” Thibodeau said. “He’s very close. When he’s ready, we’ll know . . . You just take it as it comes. Whatever the team needs the most and what’s best, you’re not going to jeopardize a player’s health. So if he can play, he’ll play. And if it’s better for him not to play, he won’t play.
“There’s some moving parts here where we’re trying to reintegrate players that come back after being out for a while. So there’s that challenge as well.”
Notes & quotes: With his 224th victory, Thibodeau passed Pat Riley to move into fourth place in wins among Knicks coaches. “All the individual stuff, it’s a byproduct of the team working together,” he said. “I’ve had a great team. I’ve got great players. It’s a great organization, so you share in all that stuff as a group.
“As far as Pat Riley, he’s unbelievable, probably the best to ever do it. I was fortunate to be with Jeff [Van Gundy], and Jeff I put up there with anybody. Those guys had great impact on my coaching philosophy. Of course, Red Holzman and all the guys that have been here, it’s an honor to be the coach here.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
