Brunson, Knicks, hold-off Hawks 116-114 in Atlanta

Jalen Brunson‘s heroics shut down Hawks’ energy down the stretch and the Knicks completed another win in Atlanta, 116-114 after trailing 94-101 with 5:20 to go.

Brunson scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and his pull-up jump with 19 seconds left, was the dagger that gave the Knicks a 114-111 lead that basically sealed the game. A couple of minutes earlier, he hit two more three pointers that helped the Knicks regain a lead which was lost earlier in the final act.

Teammates have confidence in me, the coaches have confidence in me, and I made plays at the right time. Quarters 2 and 3, I didn’t really do much and just wasn’t being myself. And then everyone had each other’s backs and talked me up and I was just ready to help close out the game, and we did a really good job of staying poised and finishing it.

– Jalen Brunson

The Knicks led 30-17 late in the first quarter and went into the fourth quarter with a score of 87-81. However, the Hawks, fueled by Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 28 points off the bench, initiated a comeback.

The game was on the verge of slipping away when Coach Tom Thibodeau called a crucial timeout. This strategic move not only disrupted the Hawks’ momentum but also allowed the Knicks to regroup and regain the lead.

Julius Radle scored a game high 29 points, collected 10 boards and dished out 8 assists while Immanuel Quickley scored 20 off the bench.

Quentin Grimes made three threes to finish with 11 buckets, same as Isaiah Hartenstein, while Josh Hart finished with 9 points, including a floating jumpshot with 1:26 to play that put the Knicks up, 110-107.

Jalen Johnson scored 18 for the Hawks while Trae Young, shooting just 4-12 (and 0-4 from behind the arc) finished with 15 points.

The Knicks dominated the boards, outrebounding the Hawks 42-30, with Mitchell Robinson grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds.

Up-next: Knicks (6-5) are travelling to DC to take on the 2-9 Wizards on Friday night from 7:00pm.