Julius Randle, Knicks able to hold off Hawks after seesaw battle

ATLANTA — The Knicks were already in a back-and-forth battle early in the fourth quarter, clinging to a lead as Quentin Grimes raced back on defense to try and defend a fast-break layup by Bogdan Bogdanovic. He stopped the shot but fouled the Hawks’ veteran wing, and immediately grasped his left hand in pain. Grimes headed straight to the locker room.

Already without RJ Barrett, the Knicks now were without Grimes and almost immediately the Hawks went on a run, turning a six-point Knicks lead into a seven-point deficit in less than six minutes.

But as quickly as they lost the lead, they recovered and fought off the Hawks’ rallies and their own miscues for a 116-114 win at State Farm Arena.

The shorthanded Knicks got heroics from Julius Randle, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Jalen Brunson with 24 points and Immanuel Quickley, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Knicks did not have an update after the game on Grimes, Tom Thibodeau calling it a bruised left hand, but was uncertain if he had gotten X-rays.

“It’s very tough and that’s unfortunate, but we have a next- man-up mentality,” Brunson said. “Guys step up but as a team we had to step up together. We have a lot of great players on this team that can do a lot of great things. Obviously, we want Quentin to come back when he’s healthy, when he’s ready, whatever goes on, but I think for us we all know what we have to do.”

The Knicks had to survive one last scare. Hanging on to a three-point lead with 4.7 seconds left, Donte DiVincenzo failed to get the inbounds pass triggered. The five-second violation gave Atlanta a second chance at a game-tying three. But Brunson fouled Dejounte Murray before he could shoot, Murray made the first and then intentionally missed the second — which was waved off on a lane violation by the Hawks.

This time the Knicks were able to get the ball inbounds with 3.9 seconds left, Brunson dribbling the clock down to the final buzzer and a sigh of relief.

The comeback started during a timeout, down by seven, when the Knicks went to the bench and Randle urged Quickley to “be yourself.” Quickley responded with a three-pointer, and then Randle found Quickley with a behind-the-back pass and Quickley banked it in to close the gap to two. Mitchell Robinson then stole the ball from Murray and when Randle missed a reverse layup, Robinson scrambled for the loose ball, kicking it out to Brunson for a three-pointer and the lead.

“I just know Quick,” Randle said. “I know his personality. I can look at him, see how he’s feeling, he was too passive during that time. I think he had Trae Young on him. When he has that matchup he needs to be aggressive. That’s exactly what he did. He came out, he was aggressive and I think that’s really what turned the game for us, him coming out being aggressive propelled us and gave us the momentum we needed down the stretch.”

But the two sides continued to go back and forth and when the Knicks built a 110-107 lead on a Josh Hart layup with 1:26 left, the Hawks answered when Quickley was called for a foul on a three-pointer by Young. The Knicks challenged the call, but were unsuccessful and Young hit all three free throws to tie the score.

Randle gave the Knicks the lead again with a righthanded finish off a Brunson feed. Young drew a foul again, but this time after making the first he missed on the second. Brunson delivered a foul-line jump shot with 18.8 seconds left to push the Knicks’ lead to three.

Young inbounded to Murray, who blew by Robinson for a layup. Randle appeared trapped in the backcourt, but he got the ball to Quickley, who was fouled with 8.9 seconds remaining. Quickley drained both free throws and the Hawks called time, setting up a play for a three-pointer.

But it’s hard to imagine this is what Quin Snyder drew up as Bogdanovic got the ball and fired up a 30-foot shot that didn’t come close to hitting the rim, harmlessly falling out of bounds.

The Knicks were without Barrett for a second straight game as he was sidelined with a migraine. Barrett, who has been the Knicks leading scorer this season, missed two games earlier this season with a sore left knee and now has been scratched for the first two games of this five-game road trip — and the Knicks had lost the first three games that he missed.

“He’s just not feeling well,” Thibodeau said. “A little better, but not feeling well. He’s under the weather. It’s just day-to-day. He’s feeling a little better today, but not good enough to be playing tonight.”

Thibodeau said that although Barrett has been traveling with the team he has not been able to play or practice at all.

Playing without Barrett for the second straight game the Knicks came out clicking anyway, building a double-digit lead less than eight minutes into the game, led by Julius Randle’s 14 first-quarter points. The advantage was still 33-22 after one period, but the Hawks quickly swung the momentum back.

The Knicks led 49-40 with 6:51 left in the half and in just three minutes and six seconds the Hawks erased that deficit and took the lead, 52-51.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.