It might be unfair to fully judge a Knicks team missing a starter (OG Anunoby – foot) and a key rotation piece (Mitchell Robinson – ankle), but Wednesday’s 149-148 overtime victory over the Play-In-bound Atlanta Hawks only added fuel to those questioning whether the Knicks are legitimate title contenders.
If New York wants to establish itself alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics as a true threat to emerge from the Eastern Conference, they need to be better—injuries or not.
And for stretches on Wednesday, they looked the part.
Fresh off a 13-point win over the Pacers on Tuesday, the Knicks came out strong in Atlanta, building an 18-point lead behind their two All-Stars, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Then, they let the Hawks chip away, run after run, until the game came down to the wire in the final minutes of regulation.
That’s when Jalen Brunson does what he does best.
Brunson buried a contested three to put the Knicks up four with 1:33 left in the fourth, then answered a pair of Trae Young free throws with a floater to keep Atlanta at bay.
He finished with 36 points and seven assists on 11-of-16 shooting, but just missed his chance at a signature moment when his step-back buzzer-beater over Hawks defensive irritant Dyson Daniels clanked off the right iron, sending the game to overtime.
No matter — Brunson made up for it in OT. With 11 seconds left, he pulled up for a dagger jumper to put the Knicks ahead for good.
The game ended with Atlanta missing a wide-open corner three at the buzzer, but for Brunson, it came down to simple execution.
“Stops, a couple of timely baskets,” he said in his walk-off interview. “I’m glad we found a way to win.”
KAT’S OUT THE BAG
Karl-Anthony Towns’ thumb injury? It might already be a thing of the past.
And if it isn’t, he’s doing a damn good job hiding it.
The self-proclaimed best shooting big man in NBA history delivered another masterclass, following up his 40-point explosion against Indiana with 42 points on 13-of-24 shooting in the second leg of the back-to-back against Atlanta.
Towns also set a Knicks career high with seven made threes on nine attempts, helping New York secure its ninth win in the last 11 games.
The data suggests his shooting slump post-injury is firmly behind him. After struggling from deep (5-of-25) in the seven games following his three-game absence with a sprained thumb, Towns has since found his rhythm — knocking down 7-of-13 from deep in the three games leading up to Wednesday’s outburst.
If this is the version of Towns the Knicks are getting down the stretch? That’s a problem for the rest of the league.
KNICKS’ DEFENSE STRUGGLES AGAINST TRAE YOUNG, BENCH SCORERS
Here’s a harsh reality check: The 297 combined points between the Knicks and Hawks were the most scored in any NBA game this season.
That’s not a good thing.
The Knicks struggled all night to contain Trae Young, who put on a clinic at Madison Square Garden, orchestrating the Hawks’ offense with a series of on-ball screens that freed him to get downhill and finish at the rim, pull up for deep threes or thread passes to open shooters or rolling bigs.
Young finished with 38 points and 19 assists with Mikal Bridges as his primary defender. But the bigger concern? The easy buckets Atlanta created all night.
Four Hawks starters scored 19 or more points, and Caris LeVert — acquired in the trade that sent De’Andre Hunter to Cleveland — torched the Knicks for 20 points off the bench.
This has become a season-long trend for New York:
• 25 points from Payton Pritchard in the loss to Boston
• 18 points from Benedict Mathurin in Tuesday’s win over Indiana
• 20 points from LeVert and 21 from Georges Niang on Wednesday
The Knicks’ second unit has struggled to contain opposing bench scorers all season.
Young, meanwhile, ultimately fell victim to his own shot selection. In overtime, he hoisted a deep 30-footer that clanked off the back iron, then threw an errant lob that resulted in a turnover on the very next possession.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Knicks now head into a much-needed week-long All-Star break before the real grind begins.
Anunoby should be back soon. Robinson, too.
And once this team is fully healthy, we’ll get a much clearer answer:
Are the Knicks actually ready to contend? Or are the “not serious contender” allegations legitimate?