Couldn’t Get It Done at End. Atlanta 121 NY 116

November 9, 2024 LouV 2024-25 0

The Knicks played the Hawks even all night, and took a 5-point lead with 2:22 left — but could not close it out — falling 121-116 in Atlanta on a Wednesday night.

The Knicks were outscored 16-6 in the final 2:22. The big play came with 53 seconds left and NY down by a point, when Karl-Anthony Towns missed a 3, Atlanta grabbed the rebound and Trae Young fed Clint Capela for a slam dunk on a fastbreak down the other end.

Atlanta also outrebounded NY on the evening, 48-41, despite KAT getting 16 rebounds and Josh Hart pulling down 8 for the Knicks.

Jalen Brunson missed big shots at the end. The Knicks Defense wasn’t there all night, as Atlanta took lots of open 3’s, shooting 15-38 from 3. The Knicks seem to be searching for chemistry.

“Rebounds was the biggest thing,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “We started slowly; worked our way back, got the lead, our offense was fine. We’re giving them a 2nd and 3rd shot; 16 more field goal attempts, 27 points. And we were high turnover. Bad combination. Usually we do a pretty good job in that area; we didn’t tonite.”

NY falls to 3-4. Atlanta improves to 4-5.

1. Atlanta Leads by 4 After 1st Quarter

Atlanta jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Trae Young made like Bob Cousy — becoming an assist demon en route to 10 assists on the evening. He fed 6’8 forward Zaccharie Risacher — #1 pick in last June’s draft — to start the game and throughout. Risacher finished with with 33 points on 11-18 shooting (6-10 from 3).

“Zaccharie Risacher not only playing with a purpose,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines, “but also moving with a purpose which has led to good looks along with shooting the ball with confidence, reacting rather than thinking, making the right play, defending, rebounding and bringing great effort and activity on both ends.”

Trae also fed 6’7 forward Jalen Johnson a lot; he finished with 23 points on 10-18 shooting (3-6 from 3).

The Knicks had a balanced attack, led by Karl-Anthony Towns who had no problems scoring inside and out. KAT would finish with 34 points on 11-23 shooting (5-9 from 3). NY pulled to within 4 points at the end of the 1st quarter.

2. Atlanta Leads by 4 at Half

The teams kept pace with each other throughout the 2nd quarter — both teams playing loose defense. NY was able to get lots of open looks from 3 and hit them — the Knicks shot 46% from 3 on the night. Tyler Kolek came off the bench for 9 minutes, going 2-2 from 3.

Helping KAT up front for NY were Mikal Bridges with 15 points on 4-10 shooting (2-7 from 3) and OG Anunoby with 15 pts on 5-13 shooting (3-8 from 3).

In the Knick backcourt, Josh Hart 21 pts on 6-9 shooting (2-4 from 3), Jalen Brunson 21 pts on 8-18 shooting (4-11 from 3), and Miles McBride came off the bench for 16 points on 5-9 shooting (4-6 from 3).

3. Tie Game After 3 Quarters

NY outscored Atlanta 28-24 in the 3rd quarter to tie the game. It looked like NY was in good position to take it if they just tightened up the D and started grabbing some rebounds.

4. Knicks Up by 5 with 2:22 Left But Can’t Close

And NY did start to take control in the 4th — going up by 5 points with 2:22 left.

But NY couldn’t finish — as Brunson missed some shots, and KAT missed the 3 with 53 seconds left.

5. Trae Tells Knick Fans to Scram

State Farm Arena in Atlanta was filled with loud Knick fans as it usually is. In the post-game interview on the court being broadcast on the loud speakers, Trae Young told Knick fans to “find their way to the exit real real quick.”

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401704737

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