Knicks collapse again in the third quarter, drop game 4, 96-113

Hawks take a 3-1 lead in the series after literally crushing the Knicks in game four, 96-113. This time the energy lasted slightly more for the Knicks but the inevitable happened in the second half.

Whatever we’ve seen during the regular season faded in a matter of days as the Knicks got completely exposed by Nate McMillan who built a team that annihilated everything Tom Thibodeau had built.

Julius Randle and RJ Barrett were just a little bit better than the first three games but still far from what they promised in the regular season.

Randle shot 7-19 from the field and finished with a team high 23 points to which he added 10 rebounds. He got ejected with three minutes left for a flagrant foul on Danilo Gallinari. (Gallinari had elbowed Bullock on a previous play.) Barrett shot 8-15 from the field and finished with 21 points.

The Hawks started the second half on a 15-5 run and in the fourth quarter they extended their lead to 25. Trae Young led them with a game-high 27 points and was one assist from a double-double.

Derrick Rose was the go-to-guy for the Knicks and tried to keep the hopes alive as much as he could. He scored 18 points and dished 6 assists but it’s tough when the guys you expect to shoot the ball are shooting bricks.

Reggie Bullock finished with zero points. Alec Burks shot 4-12 and managed to get 12 buckets. Immanuel Quickley got nada.

Down 3-1 in the series, the Knicks will return to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday and try to push the series back to Atlanta. But the odds are against them. Just 13 teams were able to recover after falling 3-1. And the way this series looked so far it would take a miracle for New York to win another one.