The Knicks are down to their last straw, as they fell to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the First Round, 113-96, on Sunday. The Hawks’ series lead now moves to 3-1.
Takeaways from the game
1) Julius Randle, once again, had a rough game for New York. Randle finished the game with 23 points on 7-for-19 shooting (36.8 percent) with 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five turnovers. That’s not what you want to see from Randle despite what the point total might say. There was also some frustration at the end of the game with a very clear flagrant foul on Danilo Gallinari with the game out of reach.
2) Derrick Rose helped the Knicks stay with the Hawks at the beginning of the game with solid shooting, going 4-for-5 for 10 points. But, in the second half, he was only 2-of-6 from the field for two points. He’d finish with 18 points on 7-for-15 from the field.
3) Trae Young still doesn’t have an answer from the Knicks on defense. The Hawks’ leading scorer with 27 points was hot from the jump with the first 13 points all going through him for Atlanta. He may not have had a good day shooting from three (4-for-14), but he still had nine assists and caused fits for New York again.
4) Two other Hawks went for 20 points, with Gallinari notching 21 and John Collins getting 22 on the day.
5) RJ Barrett had a better game shooting from the field, totaling 21 points on a solid 8-for-15 shooting with six boards and four assists. But on the other side of things, Reggie Bullock had no points, going 0-for-4 from the field over nearly 34 minutes on the floor.
6) Obi Toppin came off the bench and went 5-of-8 for 13 points.
What’s Next
The Knicks will travel back to Madison Square Garden to face elimination against the Hawks in Game 5 on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.