Hawks 121, Knicks 116: “Brand new team yet more predictable than ever.”

KAT logs his sixth-straight double-double, but the Knicks run out of gas again in the fourth.

The New York Knicks (3-4) wrapped up a four-game road trip tonight in Atlanta against the Hawks (4-5). At least they split the trip.

Atlanta’s rookie Zaccharie Risacher ignited the Hawks’ early offense, while the Knicks struggled with their shooting, missing a bunch to trail early. Despite a second quarter comeback led by Knicks Tyler Kolek and Miles McBride, Atlanta maintained a 65‑61 lead at halftime, with their freshman Frenchman topping all scorers.

In the second half, the Knicks fought back with strong performances from Towns, McBride, and Hart, briefly taking the lead. However, Atlanta outperformed them on second-chance points and executed a decisive late 9‑1 run to secure a 121‑116 victory.

Risacher finished with a career-high 33 points, seven rebounds, three assists and steals, and two blocks. For the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded another double-double (34 points, 16 boards, three blocks, 7-of-7 from the stripe); Brunson had 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting and with four assists; and Miles McBride contributed 16 off the bench.

New York lost the points in the paint (58-36), offensive rebounds (16-7), and steals (12-5). Do we have an ETA on Precious?

First Half

Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher, le numéro un pick in this year’s draft, started the scoring tonight with a triple and added another soon after. As for the Knicks, they missed seven of their first ten shots and began the game behind, 7‑0.

The flighty field goal shooting from Monday’s game in Houston snuck along in the Knicks’ luggage. Through the first 12 minutes, they shot 38% from the field and 4-of-14 from beyond the arc, while Atlanta shot 41% and 36%. Wisely, the visitors tightened up their defense to disrupt the Hawks’ offense but nonetheless entered the second quarter down 26‑22.

Trae Young shot 1-of-10 from the field in Monday’s game versus Boston. Tonight, he shot 1-of-6 in the first quarter. Love to see it!

New York’s Tyler Kolek took the reins to start the second quarter. The rookie continued to shoot perfectly from beyond the arc and led a comeback—with a little help from Miles McBride. The two combined for four treys. Here Junior John Stockton kisses the net:

When Jalen Brunson returned midway through the half, the Knicks flew past the Hawks thanks to six unanswered points by KAT. Sloppy play ensued, however, with nine first-half turnovers that cost New York 13 points. With the Knicks in disarray, Young and Risacher led a 13‑5 run to finish the half and regain a 65‑61 lead.

As on Monday, the Knicks lost the first-half battle for points in the paint (26‑15), rebounds (25‑23), and fast-break points (9‑2). They shot well enough through the second quarter, finishing the half 14-of-28 from deep. Fourteen makes tied their record for any half in Knicks’ history! Not a bad turnaround. Towns was cooking, with 20 points and nine rebounds, but Jalen Brunson had three turnovers without an assist and just eight points. Atlanta’s French rookie led all scorers with 22 points.

Second Half

New York stumbled a bit out of intermission but fought back with quality play from their wings, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Although they continued to lose ground in the paint, the Knicks scored seven consecutive points to briefly retake the lead toward the end of the quarter. A buzzer-beater by Hawk Jalen Johnson tied the score at 89 apiece after three quarters.

The Knicks average 11 turnovers per game but had committed 14 by early in the fourth quarter. Both teams are depleted by injuries, but the Knicks remain the more talented team. They clawed their way back in the fourth quarter, thanks to Towns providing most of the offense with a little help from McBride and Josh Hart.

Just past the eight-minute mark, the visitors retook a sliver of the lead, and it was touch-and-go from there. The Hawks were outscoring the Knicks by at least 10 for second-chance points, and the ‘Bocker starters looked a step slow down the stretch. However, Towns was Godzilla among pigeons.

He didn’t do much tonight, but Bridges aced this inbounds play.

Atlanta’s legs still had spring to them, and they mounted a 9‑1 run over a minute and a half to go up 114‑111 with 46 seconds left. Josh Hart fouled Risacher while contesting a Jalen Brunson miss. The rookie made one, Atlanta secured the rebound, and it was the pits from there. Final score, 121-116.

Notes

• Tyler Kolek has made all four of his three-point attempts to start his career, a Knickerbocker first.
• In the 2024-25 season’s first eight games, the Hawks’ bench scored 320 points—the fourth-most in the NBA and second in the Eastern Conference. Tonight, the Knicks’ reserves outscored them, 22‑18.
• Karl-Anthony Towns now has six straight double-doubles.
• Jericho Sims needs to be more aggressive. Repeat this until he changes or Ariel Hukporti takes his minutes. FYI, he attempted his first free-throws of the season tonight, and missed both.
• Miles McBride logged a team-high plus/minus of +13. He shot 0-of-9 on Monday, but 5-of-9 tonight, including 4-of-6 from deep.
• The Atlanta Hawks are 202-190 versus the Knicks all-time.
• Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels leads the NBA with 6.2 deflections per game and ranks second with 2.2 steals per game. In his third season, Daniels has recorded at least one steal in each of his seven games played. Tonight, he committed four thefts.
• It deserves further study, but they eyeball test said that McBride and Brunson were a terrific second-half combination. With the two teams going tit-for-tat, bucket-for-bucket in the fourth, coach Tom Thibodeau stuck with a lineup of four starters and McBride.
• All Knicks starters have scored double-digit points in six straight games.
• On Monday, the Rockets ended the game with a 9-0 run. The Hawks had a 16-6 stretch at the end of this one. Tonight’s distribution of minutes for the starters: Anunoby 41, Bridges 39, Towns and Hart, 38 apiece, and Brunson 37. These things seem connected, no?

Up Next

Quoth JalenBrunsavior: “Brand new team yet more predictable than ever.” Very true . . . still, they have yet to play 10 games together and are missing three rotational players. Let’s see what happens when the boys return to town and host the Milwaukee Bucks at MSG this Friday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score