Knicks fall to Hawks as missing pieces continue to cause struggles

With Jalen Brunson sidelined due to a knee injury sustained on the first possession of the previous game, the Knicks struggled to contain the Hawks and suffered a 116-100 defeat last night at the Garden.

The Knicks faced difficulties in the fourth quarter, shooting just 8-27 from the field. Despite their efforts to keep the deficit within single digits, they faltered in the final four minutes as the Hawks extended their lead. De’Andre Hunter widened the gap with a basket at the 3:06 mark, followed by Saddiq Bey increasing the lead to 107-94. Dejounte Murray’s two-pointer with 1:54 remaining sealed the victory for the Hawks.

“We got in a big hole, but were down by five going into the fourth. Created good shots, and I thought a lot of the 3s were wide open. We gotta make ’em.”

– Tom Thibodeau

After trailing 75-61 midway through the second quarter, the Knicks embarked on a spirited 15-1 run that tied the game with less than two minutes left in the third quarter. However, the Hawks maintained a 5-point lead at the end of the third, preventing the Knicks from seizing the lead.

Despite a slow start that saw the Hawks take a commanding 33-15 lead in the first quarter, the Knicks outscored their opponents 35-28 in the second quarter.

Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks in scoring with 21 points and 6 assists but struggled with his shooting, going just 7-24 from the field, including 5-17 from beyond the arc. Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 19 points off the bench, while Precious Achiuwa finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Josh Hart added 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Miles McBride and Alec Burks each chipped in with 11 points.

The Hawks were led by Jalen Johnson’s 26-point performance, with Dejounte Murray scoring 21 and DeAndre Hunter adding 22 off the bench.

Next up, the Knicks (36-26) will host the Magic (36-26) on Friday night at 7:30 pm