Knicks storm the Hawks 126-107 in opening night

The New York Knicks started the 2018-19 campaign with a solid 126-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in front of a sold-out Garden last night.

With a different lineup for the opening night, coach Fizdale inserted Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina in the starting five and kept rookie Kevin Knox on the bench.

The Knicks missed their first shots of the night, allowing the Hawks to build a 10-2 lead early in the first, but Ntilikina’s three pointer was the wake-up call and from that point on the game flew in a single direction.

The biggest lead of the game, 28 points, came early in the second half, after the Knicks set a new franchise record with 49 points scored in the second quarter.

Tim Hardaway Jr led the Knicks with 31 points – 16 of them by halftime and Enes Kanter scored 16 and grabbed 11 boards.

“I try to get the crowd involved — I’m a passionate ballplayer who feeds off the crowd and teammates”

– Tim Hardaway Jr.

 

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Trey Burke added 15 buckets, the same as Allonzo Trier and Mario Hezonja off the bench.

Kevin Knox struggled again with his shooting going 4-16 from the field and finished with 10 points.

The Hawks were led by Taurean Prince with 21 points, rookie Trae Young and Kent Bazemore scored 14 each while veteran Vince Carter added 12 including a long three in the third quarter.

The Knicks opened the season at home for the first time since 2014/15 and will host the Nets on Friday.