The Knicks tied up their first-round series 1-1 after beating the Atlanta Hawks, 101-92 on Wednesday night.
Here’s a few takeaways from Game 2:
– RJ Barrett scored the Knicks’ first six points, finishing on an and-one layup and then connecting on a wing three. Trae Young found a cutting Bodgan Bogdanovic to give the Hawks a 22-12 lead with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter. With Young on the bench, the Knicks began to come back, but a Kevin Huerter dunk with 10 seconds left put Atlanta up 27-20 at the end of the first.
Julius Randle was held scoreless in the quarter, shooting 0-of-3 from the field. The Knicks shot just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) in the first, compared to the Hawks shooting 43.5 percent (10-of-23).
– Immanuel Quickley had his layup blocked at the rim by Huerter, but Alec Burks picked up the offensive rebound and put it in to make it a 32-28 game. Obi Toppin drilled a corner three to put the Knicks down one, although Young would hit a step-back three on the following possession as the Hawks went up 35-31 with 7:36 left in the second. Young was called for a delay of game after the make, and Tom Thibodeau then called timeout to regroup his team.
– Derrick Rose made it a two point game with a layup right out of the timeout. Bogdanovic came back with a three, but Rose scored again right away as the Knicks trailed 38-35 with 5:51 remaining. Randle got his first points of the night on two foul shots, making it a 45-41 game. The Hawks came back firing, with Young hitting a 30-foot jumper and then finishing on an up-and-under layup to put his team up 52-41.
– Atlanta led 57-44 at halftime, with Young scoring 20 points and going 4-of-6 from deep in the half. Randle finished the half 0-of-6 from the field and 0-of-2 from three, as Rose led the Knicks in scoring with 14 points in 19 minutes off the bench. They shot just 29.2 percent from the field (14-of-48) and 16.7 percent from three (2-of-12)
– Randle began the third quarter with a bang, making a three on the Knicks’ first possession. Rose started in the second half and hit a three with 9:00 left in the third, as the Knicks trailed 61-55. Reggie Bullock was issued a Flagrant 1 foul on De’Andre Hunter, who made both foul shots to put Atlanta up 10 points.
– The Knicks started to find a groove, as Randle hit Rose for a three to make it 70-64 game and forcing the Hawks to call timeout with 4:35 remaining in the third. After a Young layup, Bullock made a three to cut the Atlanta lead to three and then tied it up at 72-72 with another three with 2:41 remaining. Randle then hit a mid-range jump shot to put the Knicks up 74-72, as their last lead in the game was 7-6 in the first quarter.
New York went on an 18-5 run and outscored Atlanta 32-18 in the third to take a 76-75 lead at the end of the quarter.
– Burks connected with Toppin for the alley-oop jam, as the Garden erupted and began chanting “OBI!”. The Hawks’ ice cold stretch continued, as a Burks layup gave the Knicks a 88-78 lead with 8:34 remaining in the contest. With Young back on the court, the Hawks came back to trail by one, but Bullock made another three to put the Knicks up 91-87.
Randle found Taj Gibson underneath for a dunk, as the Knicks took a 98-91 lead with under two minutes left. Randle put the Knicks up nine on a layup with 1:13 remaining in the game. Rose finished the game with 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting in 39 minutes off the bench, and Randle ended up with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Young had 30 points for Atlanta, but they shot just 36.9 percent as a team for the game after a poor second half.
Highlights
What’s Next
The Knicks and Hawks will play Game 3 in Atlanta on Friday at 7:00 p.m.