Tired Knicks commit 16 turnovers, fall to Hawks in final game of road trip
Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) goes up for a jump shot while guarded by Atlanta Hawks guard Keaton Wallace (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Jason Allen
ATLANTA — It was the last stop on a nine-day, four-game excursion and if the Knicks seemed as if they were exhausted, maybe staying up on Election Night like much of the nation, it was showing.
A step slow much of the night, the Knicks matched a season-high 16 turnovers and still they found themselves fighting and scratching to try and find a way to close out the trip. But a late lead disappeared as they faded down the stretch for the second straight game, suffering a 121-116 defeat against the Hawks.
It sent them home with a 2-2 record on the trip and a 3-4 record overall.
“End of a long road trip, we came out sluggish,” Josh Hart said.
“We kind of let them operate offensively kind of how they wanted and then offensively we weren’t crisp. I think we had 15 turnovers or whatever for the day. We’ve got to find a way.
“This game obviously very winnable at the end of the game. We’ve got to be able to put teams away at the end of close games.”
Jalen Brunson was frustrated much of the night and Hart was hit with a technical foul for the second straight game. It seemed like in the end they would find a way, up five after Karl-Anthony Towns drained a three-point field goal and then swatted a Trae Young layup, soaring to block it with 2:46 to play. It was whistled for goaltending, but Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau challenged the call and it was reversed on replay.
The Knicks still couldn’t shake the Hawks. Jalen Johnson drained a corner three and then rookie Zaccharie Risacher, who had a career-high 33 points, scored in the lane to tie it with 1:31 remaining.
Brunson went to the line with 1:20 to play and missed the first before giving the Knicks a one-point lead again. But Clint Capela drained a pair and the Knicks were trailing by one entering the final minute.
Towns, who had 34 points and 16 rebounds, missed a corner three and the Hawks rushed the ball up the floor, Trae Young found Capela for a dunk and a three-point lead with 46.9 seconds remaining.
Brunson missed a three at the other end and Risacher fell out of bounds with the rebound. The call originally signaled was Knicks’ ball. But another official, J.T. Orr, stepped in to call a loose-ball foul on Hart. It sent Risacher to the line where he converted the first. He missed the second, but the rebound bounced out to Young, who was fouled and hit a pair for a 117-111 lead.
The Knicks were outscored 16-6 down the stretch to see the five-point lead disappear and the Hawks pull away.
“We just have to get better from it,” said Brunson, who finished with 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting. “That’s all we can do.”
“We just got to get better,” Mikal Bridges said. “Had a good one in Miami and it was kind of a letdown after that. I think we got too excited. We just got to build off these games.
“Obviously it sucks to learn from losses but that’s what we got to do. It’s tough. Starting off hot and not ending how we wanted to. But just learn from it.”
Young, speaking on the court afterward, said, “That was too close. I hope those New York fans exit real quick.”
Brunson struggled to shake the defensive pressure of Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels, who was hounding him the length of the court. In the third quarter Brunson finally began to find an opening. He drove into the lane for a layup, then fed Deuce McBride for a three-pointer.
He tied the score at 85 with a drive and followed with another pull-up near the basket to push the Knicks in front.
The teams went to the fourth quarter tied at 89 after Jalen Johnson followed up a missed dunk at the buzzer.
It was another play where the Knicks were caught flat-footed — something they’d seen when watching the film from their last game.
After decrying their slow start in Houston, noting that they were a step slow in that game and had to fight back all night, the Knicks found themselves in a 7-0 hole to begin Wednesday night’s game. They missed their first five shots. By the end of the first quarter they’d turned the ball over six times.
The Knicks’ defense couldn’t find a way to slow down Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick, who had 22 points in the half on 8-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three. The 22 points were more than he’d scored in any complete game this season and the most in a half by a Hawks rookie since at least 2002-03.
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.
