Dyson Daniels, take a bow at center field.
Jalen Brunson is the engine of the NBA’s best offense, but Daniels drew and stifled Brunson for much of Wednesday night, forcing 5-of-15 shooting for 14 points.
Meanwhile, Trae Young once again became the WWE heel at Madison Square Garden that Knicks fans love to hate, scoring 22 points (on 22 shots) and 11 assists. In the final seconds, once the game was decided, Young adopted the Knicks logo at half court, pretending to blow then roll the dice, then scoop up money as if he were at the table. Las Vegas craps.
“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” Brunson said.
Young sparked a Hawks offense that, down the stretch, continued to get alley-oop dunks on an unimpressive Knicks defense that couldn’t buy a stop. D’Andre Hunter came off the bench and made four 3-pointers en route to 24 points, while Jalen Johnson had 21 points and 15 rebounds.
It all propelled Atlanta to a 108-100 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta advances to Las Vegas and the NBA Cup semifinals, where the Hawks will face the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
This game showed how the NBA Cup is simply different from a regular season game: It was playoff-level intensity and physicality much of the night.
New York’s problem was that Atlanta played more like a classic Tom Thibodeau team, using that physicality and length to disrupt the defense and dominate the boards – Atlanta had 22 offensive rebounds on the night, grabbing the boards on a 36% clip. of their missed shots.
The Knicks took an early lead thanks to nine quick points from Mikal Bridges, while the Hawks started the game 1 of 7 from 3. New York led virtually the entire first half and into the third quarter, rarely trailing. two digits. but Atlanta did not benefit from the Knicks defense.
Then came the third quarter and a game-changing 27-8 run.
After that, the Knicks were never able to get their offense going against the length and athleticism of the Hawks defense. Additionally, the referee let this match make Rucker Park physical without a call, which frustrated New York. The Knicks got 21 points from Josh Hart, plus 19 points and 19 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, but he faced foul trouble in the fourth quarter, eventually fouling out. New York had 14 bench points, compared to 43 for Atlanta.
Ultimately, the Knicks couldn’t find any offensive flow through physicality and couldn’t get any stops. Now they stay home, face Orlando next week and have time to think about it.
Atlanta leaves for Las Vegas.
